Fandom Distorted Mirror [IC]

[MidwayLives]

"You're going. You're forgetting all these delightful little notions you seem to have about me, swallowing whatever stubborn pride is even keeping the argument going at this point, and putting as much distance between us as is humanly possible. Whatever speech you have coming, whatever sassy attitude you're about to cop, you're doing that. And if you don't..."

She was really, really glad Yang couldn't see her face during this next part.

She was even more glad she couldn't see Yang's.

"I'll hurt your sister."

This entire conversation had left Ruby in a bad place.

The hallucinations(which she still wasn't sure if it meant her mental state was getting worse rather than better)hadn't ceased, she still felt guilt over disappointing Weiss, and now she was being sent away along with everyone else? Yet she continued to hold her tongue all the same. She owed it to Weiss that she had made what little progress she had. To go against her would feel like a slap in the face for all that hard work.

At the thought of another world's ...her...going through pain(even if Ruby's own feelings towards her other were still complicated and to be unpacked at a later time)she couldn't hold it back anymore.

"Weiss! You...You can't do that!"

Ruby shouted.

"....I know you wouldn't do that..."
​

 

[MidwayLives]

"You get to my age, the days are better spent saving your energy for the special occasions."

Yang clapped, all enthusiasm in contrast. "Cool! I mean, the most basic bitch bad guy motive ever invented, prolly, but hey! Killer cyborg guy has joined the party. Ahem."

Her jog out of Blake's cell brought her to a stop in front of the general, where she tapped her foot with an expectant stare and put her hand out.

Tiger's ears could have been seen twitching under the bandages.

Part of the faunus's face was exposed revealing the bruising and scarring as a repulsive side affect of pushing her body too far.

Her teeth were bared and the growl hadn't stopped.


​

Her jog out of Blake's cell brought her to a stop in front of the general, where she tapped her foot with an expectant stare and put her hand out.

Carnelian sighed and tossed the chip control device into her waiting palm on his way to the door, heading out to ensure the hallway remained clear and relieve any guard postings they'd missed on the way in. Yang caught it with a flourish and crushed it into a pile of scrap metal and circuitry, deftly hopping onto Clover's corpse and letting it sprinkle all over his face as she twirled and maintained her balance.

"...!"

Tiger threw her body against the hardlight barrier.

It didn't give but the snarl that escaped her lips sounded far more animalistic than she'd ever shown a tendency for.
​

"Gonna need you to tow a line too here, kittycat, okay? Last thing I wanna see right now or ever actually is two grandpas start smacking each other around, and love him or hate him Carnie's our biggest asset tonight. Well, maybe second biggest. I am full of surprises, y'know." She made sure to catch Blake's eye on her next rotation, shooting her a salacious wink.

"Either way, he's pretty much our only shot at not going back to papa emptyhanded at this point. If Old Big and Muscles Big here can't take the L and accept this is the way things are for now they can stay here. Your call!~ Have I mentioned I love watching you boss people around?"

...To work with this man.

Despite the crimes he'd inflicted upon their people...

"....Do what you have to do."
​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"Oh, don't act so shocked. Like it's my fault you're all such poor listeners."

"Don't do it."​

 

[Gus Gungus]

At the thought of another world's ...her...going through pain(even if Ruby's own feelings towards her other were still complicated and to be unpacked at a later time)she couldn't hold it back anymore.

"Weiss! You...You can't do that!"

Ruby shouted.

"....I know you wouldn't do that..."

"Don't do it."

"Wow, stellar points, everybody. You really maximized your minutes!" She fired back sardonically, giving them a perfectly impolite smattering of a golf clap without turning back to face them. "Unfortunately, Ruby, you surrendered the right to a say in this meeting the moment you thought you could cozy up to me like some sort of mistreated puppy without disclosing some of the more depraved things you've done. If it wasn't crystal clear by now, I am NOT the person to help you, anyway. So you want my advice, warts and all? Shut up and be grateful I'm allowing you to go where the chips fall, just like you always have, because I am seriously weighing the positives and negatives of sending you anywhere with a Yang you haven't already pushed to her breaking point."

She scoffed at Raven. "And you, you can just shut up period. Leaving is your specialty, I'm not sure why you're so reluctant to now. Oh, right! Because you're so enamored by the sight of a daughter who didn't buckle in every conceivable way as a result of your failures that you're deferring to her on every decision, of course! Well, I suppose that makes your input pretty much valueless, then, doesn't it?"

The words were spoken with faux cheer and a deliberate slowness even as the outright nastiness of her remarks continued to intensify, like she was some manner of childhood educator instructing a class and not a woman making a concentrated effort to get everyone in her life to abandon her, again. "So I guess the most helpful thing you can possibly contribute to the situation would be to stand there, be a door, and stay quiet while the grownups come to a decision, isn't that right? Please feel free NOT to respond. You've all made it clear who the shot-caller here is. I want to hear her say it."​

 

[MyrtenRose]

She scoffed at Raven. "And you, you can just shut up period. Leaving is your specialty, I'm not sure why you're so reluctant to now. Oh, right! Because you're so enamored by the sight of a daughter who didn't buckle in every conceivable way as a result of your failures that you're deferring to her on every decision, of course! Well, I suppose that makes your input pretty much valueless, then, doesn't it?"

The words were spoken with faux cheer and a deliberate slowness even as the outright nastiness of her remarks continued to intensify, like she was some manner of childhood educator instructing a class and not a woman making a concentrated effort to get everyone in her life to abandon her, again. "So I guess the most helpful thing you can possibly contribute to the situation would be to stand there, be a door, and stay quiet while the grownups come to a decision, isn't that right? Please feel free NOT to respond. You've all made it clear who the shot-caller here is. I want to hear her say it."

“.....................”

Her hand gripped the hilt of her blade nigh-instantly after hearing that, an angry and determined glint in her eyes. Raven was sorely tempted to draw Omen and take a swing at Weiss for that scathing critique. A childhood spent among the raiders and thugs of Mistral’s wilderness left its mark, no matter how much she tried to distance herself from it. Still, despite being sorely tempted, her sword remained in its scabbard. Despite the anger she felt, she recognized that course of action was hardly productive...and that fight would not be one she was likely to win, barring an unexpected miracle. Even unbalanced, the woman had the power of two maidens and her semblance behind her. After a tense few moments on her part, Raven’s hand relented entirely, releasing the grip on her sword and falling back to rest by her sides.

She glared for a moment longer before sighing and just striding past Weiss entirely to stand by one of the windows overlooking the city to quietly stare out there. Her helmet was not on her person, but she nevertheless retreated inward behind some of her walls and fell into a sullen silence. The words themselves were bad. That nasty tone Weiss took in saying them was worse. But the worst thing, the thing that stung the most, was that Raven couldn’t say Weiss was entirely wrong. Couldn’t deny that there was a degree of truth to the poison she spat. She didn’t much like giving the bitch any sense of satisfaction for getting one over on her but she would just have to bear it.

The sooner this reached a conclusion, one way or another, the sooner they could all move on...and, brothers willing, she really wouldn’t ever have to suffer seeing Councilwoman Schnee again.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

The sooner this reached a conclusion, one way or another, the sooner they could all move on...and, brothers willing, she really wouldn’t ever have to suffer seeing Councilwoman Schnee again.

"Generally, I have a rule. Regrets are counterproductive. There's no place for them when the fates of kingdoms hang in the balance."

The voice of Ironwood reached Raven as haggard, tired, and clouded as she had ever heard it, standing as he was on that side of the glass himself, also ignoring the frankly ridiculous conversation happening behind him.

It was a look that ill-suited the man she had come to know rather well over the course of their time working as part of Salem's cabal. The months had taken their toll on him as much as anyone; what began as a half-correct suspicion of Schnee's involvement with Ozpin had become a thread he pulled until it unraveled the whole sweater, and one had to wonder precisely what Weiss had told him while he sat in prison that had managed to unravel his faith in Salem to such a similarly deep degree that he had made the choice to throw in with another instead. What sales pitch had made him genuinely believe that Weiss Schnee, faults and all, was the better option for the kingdom of Atlas, the better woman to put his faith in towards ending the threat of Ozpin. Maybe it was the familiarity; maybe her results spoke for themselves. Maybe Salem's web of lies ran just that bit too deep, or maybe her plan really was just that good.

Whatever the case, he didn't seem likely to share. He had never been the most forthcoming man, and now wasn't the most ideal juncture to hash out their differences of opinion either way.

He also didn't look sure anymore, and the look in his eye was as glazed and distant as ever as he scanned the Atlesian skyline, like he was expecting Ozpin's forces to descend on it at any second.

"...But do you ever feel like you've hedged the wrong bets? Put your trust in the wrong people, time after time, when maybe the real solution was right there in front of you from the beginning."​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"Generally, I have a rule. Regrets are counterproductive. There's no place for them when the fates of kingdoms hang in the balance."

She didn’t turn to face him, her gaze didn’t move so much as an inch but her reply came swiftly nevertheless. “You know, it’s that kind of talk that throws fuel into the fire about how you really are more machine than man.” She wasn’t Qrow but she could be every bit as blunt and sarcastic as him.

“Not to sound too much like Salem, spouting wise, but...People need regret. It’s part of how you recognize mistakes. If you don’t let regret in, you don’t recognize your mistakes. If you don’t own any mistakes, you eventually start thinking everything you do is right, or necessary. And if you think that...how will you know when you’ve gone too far? That’s important too, y’know. Especially when it comes to the kingdoms. It’s a balancing act. Like walking the tightrope at a circus.”​

"...But do you ever feel like you've hedged the wrong bets? Put your trust in the wrong people, time after time, when maybe the real solution was right there in front of you from the beginning."

“Tch. Sounds like you do.” She replied, not really giving an answer to his question but also not really caring to all that much. Not yet, at least. “But speaking of regrets, mistakes, putting trust in the wrong people-“ She started to round back and divert even more from his question. “-you and her were really playing the long con, huh? Working together behind the scenes, moving every piece along and pulling the wool over everybody’s eyes the whole time. That makes me wonder.” Now she did turn to face him, her expression fiercely scrutinizing. “Were you in on everything? Say, like, oh, I don’t know...messing around with Liadan’s head? Poking around in her mind, changing whatever you saw fit to?” ​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

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Weiss had fallen back into the sort of guarded, expressionless look she wore whenever she was under scrutiny, one as carefully crafted over countless nights around the family dinner table as it had been tempered in the cutthroat world of Atlesian commerce.

The fact that Yang had come to know that look so well made all the little ways her words fractured it stand out all the more, as though it were porcelain rather than the reforged steel Weiss wanted to present it as. It was a far more subtle affair than the open melancholy she'd been given to over the last while, but somehow there was something far more abjectly stung about it, too; that even when her feelings were beaten back into their iron container of composure Yang could have this effect on her, have her brows crease and lips purse in wounded dismay as it became apparent the huntress wasn't quite as enamored with Weiss as she had believed. Or wanted to.

"...Well then. Glad to know where we stand."

That was all she said, at least initially. Per usual, none of what she was feeling registered in her words apart from a sniff of something opaque, not one attempt made to defend herself from Yang's appraisal; She knew full well how hypocritical it would've been, after everything she just said. So she just waited. Patiently, attentively.

But not for one second did Yang feel like her appeal was falling on flexible, nor indeed even receptive, ears. The second she saw that distant, cold look in Weiss's eyes she knew.

Her mind was made up.





"...You're not dumb, Yang."

The admittance finally came in the form of a quiet, apologetic sigh, Weiss's regret for the way she had phrased her prior outburst and the effect she let this person have on her nothing if not honest, at the very least. To go full disclosure with an honesty policy, to admit that she had cancelled the order on the Belladonna elder, for instance, would've been counterintuitive at this point. Engaging on any sort of an emotional level with Yang at all was obviously a mistake. She knew what she had to do now, no different than a majority of what her day job required.

Double down.

"You're just not as smart as you think you are. Because I am NOT broken. Awful through and through, yes. But I'm exactly the kind of awful that thrives in this world; The kind the enemy I intend to point it at deserves. Nothing I've ever done has been for 'no reason', regardless of whether you can see it or not. And those things you mentioned? I would do all of them again."

Her tone of voice made it obvious she wanted that to be the end of it, the way she didn't even look back up from the screens she had firmly switched her attention to when Yang leaned over her desk indicating she had every intention of forcing the huntress to just accept it and shut up already, happy or no. But of course, no. The world couldn't even give her that much.





She yanked her hand away, stood up, and walked to the window so quickly Yang would've been forgiven for thinking something in there had somehow insulted the maiden worse than any of the criticisms she'd leveled her way, if not for one thing.

View attachment 816326

The smile. More an impression of one, really; just a single, momentary glow of warmth cresting across Weiss's face like a wave, enough to signify the relief flooding her as the right words came at the right time from the right person. The only person who could make her feel that way.

Which was exactly the problem.

There was a long pause before Weiss spoke again, but it felt even longer. Her arms were crossed so tightly it was practically a hug, figure as still as the fresh layer of snow the morning after a blizzard; naught but a deathly soft, practically imperceptible hitch of the breath escaping her lips for the duration of her silence, a noise that was impossible to trace precisely as either happy or sad.

Her voice, when it finally did come, was a marked contrast in how flat it was, whatever emotions Weiss had felt in those few seconds as carefully and elaborately guarded behind as many hastily erected walls as they had ever been.

"Then this is the perfect time for you to learn the world doesn't care about your feelings. The things I did for you were not acts of kindness, Yang. They were selfish. Maybe you'd understand why if you were half as worldly and grown-up as you pretend to be, and not... Dust. Not just some kid."

The admittance came out in a mutter that sounded as muted as she did disgusted with herself, before even that feeling was swept under the rug with all the rest. When she did finally deign to continue after that it was with levels of hollowed-out ice and detachment so unwaveringly numb they couldn't be anything other than wilful.

"One last time, here's what's going to happen. You're going. You're forgetting all these delightful little notions you seem to have about me, swallowing whatever stubborn pride is even keeping the argument going at this point, and putting as much distance between us as is humanly possible. Whatever speech you have coming, whatever sassy attitude you're about to cop, you're doing that. And if you don't..."

She was really, really glad Yang couldn't see her face during this next part.

She was even more glad she couldn't see Yang's.

"I'll hurt your sister."​

"....I know you wouldn't do that..."

Yang's head was hung over the desk, her fists planted against its top.

"...Yea Ruby. She would."

She hadn't been kidding, or lowballing what Weiss was capable of doing. If Weiss said she'd hurt Ruby, her Ruby, to get her to leave, she would. She slowly stood up and trudged back towards the rest of the group, her fists balled at her side and her eyes hidden behind her bangs. Her voice was heavy and wet when she spoke again.

"...Ok, Weiss. We'll go. But... please. Whatever this plan is, whatever's gonna happen to you, put that big brain of yours to work and... find something better. Because whatever it takes..."

She took a deep breath and looked back up, though still not back in Weiss' direction.

"I'm not letting this be goodbye. You can call it a promise."

 

[Gus Gungus]

She didn’t turn to face him, her gaze didn’t move so much as an inch but her reply came swiftly nevertheless. “You know, it’s that kind of talk that throws fuel into the fire about how you really are more machine than man.” She wasn’t Qrow but she could be every bit as blunt and sarcastic as him.

“Not to sound too much like Salem, spouting wise, but...People need regret. It’s part of how you recognize mistakes. If you don’t let regret in, you don’t recognize your mistakes. If you don’t own any mistakes, you eventually start thinking everything you do is right, or necessary. And if you think that...how will you know when you’ve gone too far? That’s important too, y’know. Especially when it comes to the kingdoms. It’s a balancing act. Like walking the tightrope at a circus.”

He offered a noncommittal hum, half a noise of acknowledgement and half one of ironic wistfulness.

"And how far is too far when it comes to the reincarnating force of darkness and his army of abominations threatening to wipe out our very civilization, I wonder? Salem may have postponed it as long as she could, but... I honestly feel we're looking at end of days here. All that history, all that technological and cultural achievement... All gone. Unless somebody makes the right play. The hard one, if that's what it takes. Maybe Salem's been ineffective all this time because she's too soft, Raven. Maybe this generation, the one where Ozpin made his move, needed someone willing to snap the tightrope. To put moral scrupulosity aside and do what needed to be done, in the name of preservation."

He finally tore his gaze from the sky, sweeping a brief glance back over the room where it settled on Weiss before he shook his head with a sigh.

"Maybe. I don't know."

He wasn't interested in an ethical debate so much as trying to explain his perspective on things, and he left it there.

“Tch. Sounds like you do.” She replied, not really giving an answer to his question but also not really caring to all that much. Not yet, at least. “But speaking of regrets, mistakes, putting trust in the wrong people-“ She started to round back and divert even more from his question. “-you and her were really playing the long con, huh? Working together behind the scenes, moving every piece along and pulling the wool over everybody’s eyes the whole time. That makes me wonder.” Now she did turn to face him, her expression fiercely scrutinizing. “Were you in on everything? Say, like, oh, I don’t know...messing around with Liadan’s head? Poking around in her mind, changing whatever you saw fit to?”

He didn't respond for a moment, but eventually gave a stiff shake of the head.

"I wouldn't call us co-conspirators, exactly. More false enemies. We coordinated when we needed to, shared information where we deemed it necessary. Every figure had their place in the plan, in her mind; Carnelian, Merlot, miss Hill. Think of it all like an elaborate chessboard. I played my part, and I imagine Liadan played hers. For better or worse."

He didn't sound happy about it, but neither did he sound choked up with remorse. It was what it was.

"I didn't know, but I won't absolve myself of complicity in it, either. If you're asking if I had a hand in what became of her, then I think we both know the answer is yes. Indirectly or otherwise."​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

The only reaction the threat of such excruciating violence seemed to elicit was a breathless, heady giggle, whatever state of mind brought on Yang's new lease on life apparently just as comfortable slipping into the role of mouthy brat deserving punishment as it was the mean, aggressive bully desperate to prove their dominance over everyone and everything.





Which made it somewhere between disturbing, sad and hilarious that the only part appearing to genuinely trip her up was this one, a flicker of a faint, uncertain squint disrupting her infinite confidence as her eyes tried to track Blake's hand, the show of genuine heartfelt tenderness struggling to register with a mind that had never felt anything of the sort.

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh... k?"

There was something slightly sheepish in how she slid off her and got up, thus proving that deep down in both Remnants Yang had no game.




Dragon rolled her eyes with instant boredom and shot Carnelian a tedious stare, face regaining its sly, playful footing as she gave the top of Blake's head a casual ruffle between the ears that was probably supposed to be placating.

"Okay, pops, you heard it. Kitty's got tenure, so find a healthier way to get your dick wet."

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Rounding out the incredibly bizarre and deadly mix of personalities in the world was a man who once again could've been mistaken for somebody's (disfigured) grandfather, mustache bristling as his lips quirked up in a relaxed smile and he held his hands up to Pyrrha and Yang both.

"Quite frankly I'm a little insulted by the aspersions, young ladies. Contrary to popular opinion, I don't go around indulging myself without limit like some sort of common animal."

It was amazing how quickly a facade could drop when it was one that had been carefully crafted over decades, and how quickly the sinister gleam reentered his eyes with those last two words as his gaze passed straight through them both to lock hard on Blake's again.

"You get to my age, the days are better spent saving your energy for the special occasions."

Yang clapped, all enthusiasm in contrast. "Cool! I mean, the most basic bitch bad guy motive ever invented, prolly, but hey! Killer cyborg guy has joined the party. Ahem."

Her jog out of Blake's cell brought her to a stop in front of the general, where she tapped her foot with an expectant stare and put her hand out.

Carnelian sighed and tossed the chip control device into her waiting palm on his way to the door, heading out to ensure the hallway remained clear and relieve any guard postings they'd missed on the way in. Yang caught it with a flourish and crushed it into a pile of scrap metal and circuitry, deftly hopping onto Clover's corpse and letting it sprinkle all over his face as she twirled and maintained her balance.

"Gonna need you to tow a line too here, kittycat, okay? Last thing I wanna see right now or ever actually is two grandpas start smacking each other around, and love him or hate him Carnie's our biggest asset tonight. Well, maybe second biggest. I am full of surprises, y'know." She made sure to catch Blake's eye on her next rotation, shooting her a salacious wink.

"Either way, he's pretty much our only shot at not going back to papa emptyhanded at this point. If Old Big and Muscles Big here can't take the L and accept this is the way things are for now they can stay here. Your call!~ Have I mentioned I love watching you boss people around?"​

Whatever brief moment of horrible clarity had created the closest thing to affection Blake had ever shown a human must've passed, because the faunus drifted right by Yang to crouch next to Bear's cell,. The faces of revolutions old and new stared each other down, Blake's face as much a mask as if she'd been wearing her Fang uniform, Navano's set into a look of grim acceptance.

"...You betrayed us."

"No" his voice rumbled in answer. "I still believe in the cause. I betrayed you. What you did to Schnee..." He slowly shook his head.

"That did not serve the cause. It only served your revenge."

"..." She stood back up "Are you willing?"

"Do you hate him?" he asked, still unmoving.

The look she gave him was like he'd asked if water was wet.

"Yes."

He rose to his feet, old bones and fresh wounds all. "Then I am"

Come what may of this, whatever part of the Hand broke tonight, Blake was still the sharpened weapon she'd been forged into; Navano knew that if there was anyone who could give Carnelian what he deserved, in the end, it would always be her. Not him. Blake stared him down a moment longer, taking the measure of his words and eyes, before she walked over to the control panel and pressed a pair of buttons, and both cell doors powered down. She turned towards the other two members of the inner circle, and gave them a deep bow.

"The Hand and the Fang serve Lord Ozpin, as it always has."

She came up from the bow and met Yang's eyes with her own, with the same fervent determination she'd always had before once more lit behind her eyes. This was the way. She'd lost one thing she fought for, the most important of them all, the one she'd just rediscovered. But Ozpin had come to her rescue. He still championed their cause. She was still the blade of the faunus. That still mattered. It might've been all that mattered now.

"Atlas bleeds tonight"

 

[Gus Gungus]

Yang's head was hung over the desk, her fists planted against its top.

"...Yea Ruby. She would."

She hadn't been kidding, or lowballing what Weiss was capable of doing. If Weiss said she'd hurt Ruby, her Ruby, to get her to leave, she would. She slowly stood up and trudged back towards the rest of the group, her fists balled at her side and her eyes hidden behind her bangs. Her voice was heavy and wet when she spoke again.

"...Ok, Weiss. We'll go. But... please. Whatever this plan is, whatever's gonna happen to you, find something better. Because whatever it takes..."

She took a deep breath and looked back up, though still not back in Weiss' direction.

"I'm not letting this be goodbye. You can call it a promise."

There had been a very pertinent reason why Weiss turned her back on the room so abruptly, more pertinent even than that extra little part of her that had died inside the moment Yang touched her hand. Just more skeletons in the graveyard, at the end of the day.

She couldn't look at her. Not while she played that card, not while she took a blunt sledgehammer to the knees of the dauntless confidence and feisty argumentative streak she adored so much and put an end to whatever shred of hope Yang had left for her once and for all. She couldn't face her for a full ten seconds after that, not while she finally accepted the ultimatum or made her promise or anything else. She literally had to count that ten seconds out in her head, otherwise she wasn't sure she could trust her resolve when she did finally turn around and look straight at her.



It was a look she'd only given Yang once before. That night in the cellar, the two of them standing over Yang's broken mother, the moment Weiss became aware Yang had been unintentionally hurt by her actions in a way that was so deep and ugly it could never be taken back. Only this one was worse, because it had been entirely on purpose. A focused act of sabotage.

It was just a look that regretted... So much. So much of who she was, of what she was doing, of every step she had ever taken to get to this point and to put that expression on Yang's face. It was almost enough to make her question everything, question whether Weiss would ever even really entertain the thought of hurting Yang and her family in the way she had just implied.

Almost.

But it just wasn't enough to be sure.

"I'm not letting this be goodbye. You can call it a promise."

She finally responded to the words, a wan, quiet smile on her face that seemed almost grateful in a quaint sort of a way.

"They never were worth very much where I'm from. I... s-sorry, Yang." She muttered, tearing her eyes away before they betrayed her too much. Somehow, even though it was just a brief, mumbled word mired in bitter sadness, there was no mistaking that 'sorry' as being an apology for everything that had occurred in the last five minutes. Not solely, anyway.

It was for everything. Everything she had done to poison the first sun she'd ever seen in Atlas that actually felt warm.

She quickly tried to put the whole exchange behind her, striding briskly over to the hardlight setup at her desk and bringing up the feed of the prison cells to give her mind another source of misery to distract herself with. Her voice, when it came once more, was brusque, directed broadly at the group rather than anyone in particular.

"Now then. I'm taking that as a concession of defeat on all your parts, just so you know. Time idle is time wasted, so— Huh."

Something on the cameras had her eyes narrow. Every prisoner was still present and accounted for as far as the screens were concerned, alleged live feeds of all three conscious Shadow Fang members sitting still. That wasn't exactly new; they had largely been unresponsive other than the breakout.

Something was just... Too still. She didn't know. Maybe it was just her paranoia. She touched a button on the desk and leaned forward, speaking into a compact receiver.

"Send Helios up here. Don't you people have somewhere to be?!" She snapped at the rest of them, an urgency in her tone not present beforehand as all traces of woe and sadness vanished behind an icy glare.

"Take the relics and stop being my problem. I'm starting to lose patience."​

 

[Gus Gungus]

She'd lost one thing she fought for, the most important of them all, the one she'd just rediscovered. But Ozpin had come to her rescue. He still championed their cause. She was still the blade of the faunus. That still mattered. It might've been all that mattered now.

"Atlas bleeds tonight"

She didn't even seem to notice that Blake was paying her less attention, to the surprise of no one. She just didn't see the world through that lens, ya know?​

 

[MidwayLives]

"Unfortunately, Ruby, you surrendered the right to a say in this meeting the moment you thought you could cozy up to me like some sort of mistreated puppy without disclosing some of the more depraved things you've done.

Ruby's face lit up.

"What?? I didn't...How did you..."
​

depraved things you've done. If it wasn't crystal clear by now, I am NOT the person to help you, anyway. So you want my advice, warts and all? Shut up and be grateful I'm allowing you to go where the chips fall, just like you always have, because I am seriously weighing the positives and negatives of sending you anywhere with a Yang you haven't already pushed to her breaking point."

Ruby's fingers clicked as she balled her hand up into a fist.

'See? She doesn't care about you. Well, care about US anyway.'

Ruby's bottom lip trembled and the beginnings of a growl were about to escape. Catching herself before it did, she turned and pulled the hood of her jacket up.

"....Whatever you say, Weiss."
​

"...Ok, Weiss. We'll go. But... please. Whatever this plan is, whatever's gonna happen to you, put that big brain of yours to work and... find something better. Because whatever it takes..."

She took a deep breath and looked back up, though still not back in Weiss' direction.

"I'm not letting this be goodbye. You can call it a promise."

Were they finally going to get a move on?

Neo still couldn't really believe it.

All that drama and now the relics were just being handed over.

Downside she had to tag along with these guys to Vacuo of all places.

....Well, she could have been killed by Schnee. So small blessings she supposed.
​

 

[MidwayLives]

Come what may of this, whatever part of the Hand broke tonight, Blake was still the sharpened weapon she'd been forged into; Navano knew that if there was anyone who could give Carnelian what he deserved, in the end, it would always be her. Not him. Blake stared him down a moment longer, taking the measure of his words and eyes, before she walked over to the control panel and pressed a pair of buttons, and both cell doors powered down. She turned towards the other two members of the inner circle, and gave them a deep bow.

Tiger stepped out with a low rumble.

She still wasn't happy about this. But just as she'd said before.

'Do what you have to do.'

If they encountered resistance(and they would, no doubt about that), the thought left a smile on the faunus's face.

 

[MyrtenRose]

He offered a noncommittal hum, half a noise of acknowledgement and half one of ironic wistfulness.

"And how far is too far when it comes to the reincarnating force of darkness and his army of abominations threatening to wipe out our very civilization, I wonder? Salem may have postponed it as long as she could, but... I honestly feel we're looking at end of days here. All that history, all that technological and cultural achievement... All gone. Unless somebody makes the right play. The hard one, if that's what it takes. Maybe Salem's been ineffective all this time because she's too soft, Raven. Maybe this generation, the one where Ozpin made his move, needed someone willing to snap the tightrope. To put moral scrupulosity aside and do what needed to be done, in the name of preservation."

He finally tore his gaze from the sky, sweeping a brief glance back over the room where it settled on Weiss before he shook his head with a sigh.

"Maybe. I don't know."

He wasn't interested in an ethical debate so much as trying to explain his perspective on things, and he left it there.

"If that's what you believe." She was no more keen to get into that at length than he was and likewise left it there. The other side of the conversation had more of her interest anyway.​

He didn't respond for a moment, but eventually gave a stiff shake of the head.

"I wouldn't call us co-conspirators, exactly. More false enemies. We coordinated when we needed to, shared information where we deemed it necessary. Every figure had their place in the plan, in her mind; Carnelian, Merlot, miss Hill. Think of it all like an elaborate chessboard. I played my part, and I imagine Liadan played hers. For better or worse."

He didn't sound happy about it, but neither did he sound choked up with remorse. It was what it was.

"I didn't know, but I won't absolve myself of complicity in it, either. If you're asking if I had a hand in what became of her, then I think we both know the answer is yes. Indirectly or otherwise."

"...Goddammit. Goddamn you both. Chess...tch. It was all a game to you, and you suckered them, us, into it. You both just took us for a ride and...you made me complicit too. The cellar that night...that wasn't a fight. Not really. It was just a fake show you staged. I didn't have to bring her in. Tock didn't have to get involved. If it wasn't for me, she wouldn't have been. I thought it was real, but it never was. All the crap that followed...and all because you two didn't want to trust anybody else. I..." She was at a loss for words right then and simply shook her head in profound disappointment. Raven wanted to punch Ironwood in his thick skull just as she had wanted to attack Weiss but she again refrained from acting on that desire.

She just turned back to the others now that they all seemed to have reached an agreement. "Whatever this secret plan of yours is, it better work. You better hope it does, and you better hope it was worth the price you paid to make it happen."​

Yang's head was hung over the desk, her fists planted against its top.

"...Yea Ruby. She would."

She hadn't been kidding, or lowballing what Weiss was capable of doing. If Weiss said she'd hurt Ruby, her Ruby, to get her to leave, she would. She slowly stood up and trudged back towards the rest of the group, her fists balled at her side and her eyes hidden behind her bangs. Her voice was heavy and wet when she spoke again.

"...Ok, Weiss. We'll go. But... please. Whatever this plan is, whatever's gonna happen to you, put that big brain of yours to work and... find something better. Because whatever it takes..."

She took a deep breath and looked back up, though still not back in Weiss' direction.

"I'm not letting this be goodbye. You can call it a promise."

"Now then. I'm taking that as a concession of defeat on all your parts, just so you know. Time idle is time wasted, so— Huh."

Something on the cameras had her eyes narrow. Every prisoner was still present and accounted for as far as the screens were concerned, alleged live feeds of all three conscious Shadow Fang members sitting still. That wasn't exactly new; they had largely been unresponsive other than the breakout.

Something was just... Too still. She didn't know. Maybe it was just her paranoia. She touched a button on the desk and leaned forward, speaking into a compact receiver.

"Send Helios up here. Don't you people have somewhere to be?!" She snapped at the rest of them, an urgency in her tone not present beforehand as all traces of woe and sadness vanished behind an icy glare.

"Take the relics and stop being my problem. I'm starting to lose patience."

"Right then. To Vacuo." Raven droned, sounding not at all enthused or satisfied but regardless going through with it. A portal snapped into existence, the dark red opening temporarily overpowering the cold blue illumination customary of Atlas. Her arms crossed as she stood next to it, waiting for them all to stride through. Nora went first, reluctance still obvious in her step. Cinder hesitated, staring idly at the gateway before releasing the breath she didn't even know she'd been holding. "Guess this is how it's going to be, after all." She murmured before going through.

Raven stepped up to the portal, peering within. For a moment, just a moment, she was tempted to just close the portal now and stay, to help, to stick it to Weiss and her demands, but...it was Vacuo, and that group needed all the help they could get. Reluctantly, eventually, she stepped through too. And once all those that were going were all gone, Robyn turned to look at Weiss and James, snark immediately escaping her mouth. "Guess you two won't need your oh so valuable lie detector now, huh?" ​

"Send Helios up here. Don't you people have somewhere to be?!" She snapped at the rest of them, an urgency in her tone not present beforehand as all traces of woe and sadness vanished behind an icy glare.

And shortly after that, the elevator dinged, opening up to reveal a definitely not slightly out of breath Gwen Helios, who had most assuredly not sprinted in a rush to get up here after that call, and who certainly had not been expecting the reason for the call to be that she would finally get to arrest that tiny annoyance. And that was undoubtedly not a brief look of disappointment that flashed across her face when she took in the room's current occupancy. "What is it, ma'am?" ​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"You both just took us for a ride and...you made me complicit too. The cellar that night...that wasn't a fight. Not really. It was just a fake show you staged. I didn't have to bring her in. Tock didn't have to get involved. If it wasn't for me, she wouldn't have been. I thought it was real, but it never was. All the crap that followed...and all because you two didn't want to trust anybody else. I..." She was at a loss for words right then and simply shook her head in profound disappointment. Raven wanted to punch Ironwood in his thick skull just as she had wanted to attack Weiss but she again refrained from acting on that desire.

She just turned back to the others now that they all seemed to have reached an agreement. "Whatever this secret plan of yours is, it better work. You better hope it does, and you better hope it was worth the price you paid to make it happen."

Ironwood said nothing.

Just kept his eyes on the horizon, and the look in them spoke volumes.

In his mind it was worth any price.

"Right then. To Vacuo." Raven droned, sounding not at all enthused or satisfied but regardless going through with it. A portal snapped into existence, the dark red opening temporarily overpowering the cold blue illumination customary of Atlas. Her arms crossed as she stood next to it, waiting for them all to stride through. Nora went first, reluctance still obvious in her step, and Ruby followed shortly afterwards with both the relics in hand, only stopping for one brief glance back at Yang and Weiss.

Those that stepped through the portal emerged to the wondrous, majestic sight of Vacuo, or more specifically Qrow passed out in an alley in Vacuo. Time differences and all.

"Miss Rose, Miss Xiao Long. A word."

Weiss was too preoccupied at this point to notice when Ironwood lightly cleared his throat, motioning for the siblings from the other Remnant to stay as the rest of the room started to file out. He didn't turn around until everyone who was going to leave was on the other side of the portal, leaving only the sisters and the one or two stragglers who might've had the gut instinct to stay and observe, if that; though he made sure Raven wasn't one of them, the knowledge that what he had to say wasn't for the ears of a Salem associate clearly imparted via a stare.

The councilwoman had taken to completely ignoring the rest of the room as they made preparations to leave and Cinder spent a really long time texting someone, eyes glued to the screens and the tip of her ponytail in her mouth as she chewed it in idle apprehension. She didn't even know over what. Suspicious by nature, Weiss had spent more time than she could count watching these very prisoner feeds, and right now they just looked... off. She was so caught up trying to figure out why that Ironwood's request only struck her as strange a good ten seconds after it should have, and her eyes narrowed sharply as she started to turn in her chair—

BANG



—Too late to do anything about the barrel of the gun she felt pressed against her head, or the gravity dust round it jettisoned straight into it to knock her from her chair.

Her aura shimmered, but held; his gun's bullets high caliber enough to rattle her average protective layer at such a close range. The second, third and fourth rounds he unloaded into her torso were enough to ensure it disintegrated completely, vanishing along with the glyphs that were only just starting to form as Weiss sputtered and tried to say something with wide eyes, a task made more difficult by the boot that had slammed into her lower back to drive the air from her lungs and keep her pinned there.

The entire thing happened in about two seconds, so sudden and unexpected it was over by the time any onlookers even processed what was going on. Ironwood ignored her struggling other than to level the barrel at her head again, and his eyes were deathly calm as he lifted them to regard Ruby and Yang.

In place of any sort of explanation, he offered only the following.

"The relics."

The hammer was thumbed back.

"Or the next one goes in her head."

And shortly after that, the elevator dinged, opening up to reveal a definitely not slightly out of breath Gwen Helios, who had most assuredly not sprinted in a rush to get up here after that call, and who certainly had not been expecting the reason for the call to be that she would finally get to arrest that tiny annoyance. And that was undoubtedly not a brief look of disappointment that flashed across her face when she took in the room's current occupancy. "What is it, ma'am?"

Spoiler

It wasn't quite arresting Neo, but at the very least there was a lot to unpack when the elevator dinged and Gwen stepped out. Ex-general Ironwood pinning an auraless Weiss to the floor with a gun to her head being chief among them, though the maiden had stopped obeying the kneejerk reaction to flail in favor of trying to catch her breath with wide, moderately horrified eyes, uncharacteristically and utterly speechless.



"...Excuse me?????????"

"I'm sorry it came to this, Weiss. You convinced me you were the best option for Atlas's future, and I believed you. I don't know what happened in the time since, but it's plain to see that's no longer the case."

Her face dropped, some form of comprehension appearing to dawn as a horrific screech of warping metal came from the open elevator.

"And unfortunately, I've been given a better one."

She stopped struggling entirely to slump limply with a quiet, rueful laugh, honestly a bit delirious from such an utter blindside.

"...Am I that bad?"

"Eh. Don't beat yourself up too much, ice queen. Turns out I just have quite the way with men."

The newest voice to make itself known technically wasn't actually new, its owner dropping down through the gash ripped in the elevator roof to confidently saunter out and lean up against the doors, keeping them open for the first of five figures to drop down behind her. Atlas's killer general stood up from his landing crouch with a typical look of cold, featureless rage, swords in hand and robotic eye pulsing as it scanned those present in the room.

Yang threw her longer-haired counterpart a cheery wink, curling a lock of her own around one finger in ditzy fashion as she finished in an elated, screechy cackle.

"Even tin ones! Pahahahahaha!~"​

 

[MyrtenRose]

The entire thing happened in about two seconds, so sudden and unexpected it was over by the time any onlookers even processed what was going on. Ironwood ignored her struggling other than to level the barrel at her head again, and his eyes were deathly calm as he lifted them to regard Ruby and Yang.

In place of any sort of explanation, he offered only the following.

"The relics."

The hammer was thumbed back.

"Or the next one goes in her head."

"..."

It was so fast, so unexpected, so out of the blue that even by the time Ruby had processed what had happened(which itself took a bit), she was still speechless at the scene before her. Ironwood had just...what he had just done left her temporarily paralyzed, so taken aback by it that stood rooted to the spot. The demand barely registered in her ears, widened eyes just staring in utter shock. It took the hammer being pulled back to make her snap back to reality somewhat and she began to stammer. "W-wait...."​

It wasn't quite arresting Neo, but at the very least there was a lot to unpack when the elevator dinged and Gwen stepped out. Ex-general Ironwood pinning an auraless Weiss to the floor with a gun to her head being chief among them, though the maiden had stopped obeying the kneejerk reaction to flail in favor of trying to catch her breath with wide, moderately horrified eyes, uncharacteristically and utterly speechless.

"...Holy..." Gwen was just as caught off guard as Ruby had been, but unlike the red-clad huntress, she possessed the discipline of a soldier who had trained hard enough and distinguished herself well enough to become a special operative. Her own side-arm was drawn in an instant by her right hand, Malware's barrel lined up for Ironwood's own skull. She opened her mouth as to say something, but somebody else spoke first.​

"Eh. Don't beat yourself up too much, ice queen. Turns out I just have quite the way with men."

The newest voice to make itself known technically wasn't actually new, its owner dropping down through the gash ripped in the elevator roof to confidently saunter out and lean up against the doors, keeping them open for the first of five figures to drop down behind her. Atlas's killer general stood up from his landing crouch with a typical look of cold, featureless rage, swords in hand and robotic eye pulsing as it scanned those present in the room.

Yang threw her longer-haired counterpart a cheery wink, curling a lock of her own around one finger in ditzy fashion as she finished in an elated, screechy cackle.

"Even tin ones! Pahahahahaha!~"

Her head spun instantly, taking in the sight of the new arrival speaking, and just beyond her...General Carnelian. Definitely not dressed for a social gathering or a business meeting. Not when he came in armed. That fact was assessed immediately and also immediately provoked a tactical response. The armor covering her left arm glowed the second Carnelian began to stand, and she thrust an outstretched hand towards the elevator. Helios' armor systems emitted a hardlight shield, one that nigh-instantly expanded into a barrier that stretched from wall to wall, intent on temporarily keeping the woman, Carnelian and the others emerging separated from the rest of the room. Confident that would hold for the immediate future, her head moved back to looking Ironwood's way, her pistol still leveled at the man.

"James Ironwood. Explain." There was none of the usual frivolity in her voice now. Not like when she worked on technology, losing herself in that world for a while. Not even the more mocking levity that had been present when addressing the tiny Neo. Now it was just a dead serious voice, aiming to get to the bottom of this volatile situation.
​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"James Ironwood. Explain." There was none of the usual frivolity in her voice now. Not like when she worked on technology, losing herself in that world for a while. Not even the more mocking levity that had been present when addressing the tiny Neo. Now it was just a dead serious voice, aiming to get to the bottom of this volatile situation.

As was becoming habitual, Ironwood said nothing. Nor did he so much as acknowledge Helios, laser focused as he was on the two he issued his ultimatum to.

"I won't ask twice."

Instead, her answer came from behind her.

"Specialist Helios. As so many in this city seem to have conveniently forgotten, you don't work for Weiss Schnee. You serve the kingdom of Atlas, meaning you report to me."

Carnelian had stepped to the forefront of the elevator, a faint quirk of amusement to his lips as he traced the tip of his sword down over the hardlight in a manner that was very ungeneral-like.

"The councilwoman is suspected of treason, murder, and state conspiracy on the highest level. These people she's abetting the escape of are in possession of vital kingdom artifacts that quite frankly it's above your paygrade to know about, much less ask. The general you're pointing a gun at and I have been working to untangle her web of lies for months. You want the full story? Watch the news tomorrow morning. Until then, I don't recall it ever being your place to question orders, soldier. Which this very much is."

Something in his voice suggested that the fact he was even trying it this way was a mere formality. That what he really, really wanted to do it the other way.

"Drop the field. Or we'll have no choice but to drop it, and you, and remember you as a traitor who let her confusion get in the way of her duty. Your choice."

Weiss said nothing in her defense, just laughed again. Like it was a joke she had heard before.

"So the serpent swallows itself."​

 

[MidwayLives]

Those that stepped through the portal emerged to the wondrous, majestic sight of Vacuo, or more specifically Qrow passed out in an alley in Vacuo. Time differences and all.

"Miss Rose, Miss Xiao Long. A word."

Neo did think it odd that the one holding the relics were asked to stand back....

....Whatever.

The sooner they got whatever this was over with....Maybe she could get Emerald and they could all go home.

The sight that greeted Neo wasn't an encouraging one.
​

Her finger hovered over the screen, eye skimming it one more time before she exhaled and she tapped the send button at last. The scroll got slid back into her pocket immediately after and she stepped through the portal, emerging now hundreds of miles out of range from Atlesian networks.

Raven waited until everybody that was going had stepped through. For a moment, just a moment, she was tempted to just close the portal now and stay, to help, to stick it to Weiss and her demands, but...it was Vacuo, and that group needed all the help they could get. Reluctantly, eventually, she stepped through too. And once they were all gone, Robyn turned to look at Weiss and James, snark immediately escaping her mouth. "Guess you two won't need your oh so valuable lie detector now, huh?"

While Neo had gone through without a care in the world, Ruby was a twitching whimpering bundle of nerves.

She felt as though she were being rejected.

Weiss had taken her in...and was now kicking her to the curb.

It hurt like a dagger to the heart. She didn't care that other people were around or that it was unbecoming of her.

She wanted to cry until she couldn't anymore.

'It isn't about you. She's right to hate you for what you've done. You created the monster that's our Yang.'

'You don't deserve forgiveness or a chance to repent.'

The hallucination that continued to taunt her was right.

....But she still didn't want to leave Weiss's side.

"I don't WANT to go...*sob* I don't..."

Weiss had accepted her with open arms and invited her into her home! Even the 'threat' of being locked away didn't seem so scary when she had somebody to talk to. Somebody she could vent her worries to. Somebody who...Ruby paused and remembered the time she'd heard Weiss refer to her offhand as a monster and how it'd hurt her feelings then.

It hurt because it was true.

As others continued filing into the portal, Ruby's legs felt like lead weights as she took step after step towards the portal. What was waiting for her at the end of this if Weiss didn't want her and she refused to go back to Ozpin/ She didn't have a place with the other Ruby or her friends. She'd be like how she was before she'd met Ozpin. Just a lonely vagrant living in the woods killing anyone who got in her way.

Was that really the life she wanted?
​

Weiss was too preoccupied at this point to notice when Ironwood lightly cleared his throat, motioning for the siblings from the other Remnant to stay as the rest of the room started to file out. He didn't turn around until everyone who was going to leave was on the other side of the portal, leaving only the sisters and the one or two stragglers who might've had the gut instinct to stay and observe, if that; though he made sure Raven wasn't one of them, the knowledge that what he had to say wasn't for the ears of a Salem associate clearly imparted via a stare.

She was face to face with the portal.

As far as she knew, this could have been the last time she ever would have seen Weiss.

Ruby raised her prosthetic hand. The one that Weiss had built for her with the exact kind of specifications that Ruby wanted.

'Go on! Go! We'll steal the relics and go our own way! Screw everybody else!'

Ruby reached for the portal-

"I can't do it!"

She pulled her hand back.

"I can't do it! I just *sniffle* can't do it!!!"

Punish her for what she'd done. Treat her like crap. She just couldn't bring herself to give in and walk away from this. Even if Weiss all but put it in words that she didn't care for her anymore. Ruby just couldn't leave her alone. They'd have to glyph her through and somebody would have had to hold her down to prevent her from trying to go back. This was the only place for her now! It was all she had left!
​

—Too late to do anything about the barrel of the gun she felt pressed against her head, or the gravity dust round it jettisoned straight into it to knock her from her chair.

Her aura shimmered, but held; his gun's bullets high caliber enough to rattle her average protective layer at such a close range. The second, third and fourth rounds he unloaded into her torso were enough to ensure it disintegrated completely, vanishing along with the glyphs that were only just starting to form as Weiss sputtered and tried to say something with wide eyes, a task made more difficult by the boot that had slammed into her lower back to drive the air from her lungs and keep her pinned there.

The entire thing happened in about two seconds, so sudden and unexpected it was over by the time any onlookers even processed what was going on. Ironwood ignored her struggling other than to level the barrel at her head again, and his eyes were deathly calm as he lifted them to regard Ruby and Yang.

In place of any sort of explanation, he offered only the following.

"The relics."

The hammer was thumbed back.

"Or the next one goes in her head."

For once, Ruby related more to her counterpart than she ever had.

"Wait...Wait!"

She didn't know what was happening or what had brought any of this on. Due to her own past, Ruby's opinion of Ironwood was never particularly high. She didn't doubt that he would have had her executed or locked up for the rest of her days if it suited her. Back at Beacon she slaughtered many of Atlas's troops who attempted to apprehend her. The way it'd been in her fragile mind she saw Ironwood and his ilk as the enemy. The enemy would only try to hurt you where you were weakest and when they did? You didn't give them second chances. You reached out and you killed them. Weiss didn't think like that and it intrigued the former bandit. They were just misguided souls who'd eventually see the fruits of Weiss's labor. All the hard work she'd put into getting to where she was. It reminded Ruby of how even after the savage life she'd lead in the woods that if anybody approached her with genuinely decent intentions and had no intentions of harming her, she'd give them the time of day, smile, and even encourage them. She perfected it to the point that she could smile in the face of someone who hated her from the word go like the other world's Cinder.

The repeated shots felt like hammerblows to Ruby's soul.

Weiss for the longest time that Ruby had been with her seemed like a figure of almost mythical proportions. It was why Ruby felt so ill equipped to comfort her when the veil was pulled back and Weiss was just....another person living her life under the worst circumstances. She'd taken in this messy smelly mongrel who'd been missing an arm and had just gotten out of a nasty fistfight with the sister she'd abused-and who was finally dishing out some well deserved payback-and was willing to help her improve and try to make the world a better place.
​

"Eh. Don't beat yourself up too much, ice queen. Turns out I just have quite the way with men."

The newest voice to make itself known technically wasn't actually new, its owner dropping down through the gash ripped in the elevator roof to confidently saunter out and lean up against the doors, keeping them open for the first of five figures to drop down behind her. Atlas's killer general stood up from his landing crouch with a typical look of cold, featureless rage, swords in hand and robotic eye pulsing as it scanned those present in the room.

Yang threw her longer-haired counterpart a cheery wink, curling a lock of her own around one finger in ditzy fashion as she finished in an elated, screechy cackle.

"Even tin ones! Pahahahahaha!~"

The demeanor....

The tone of voice...

Ruby's teeth grinded together and her artificial hand whirred and clicked.

Out of all times...Out of all places....

"Yang..." ​

Something in his voice suggested that the fact he was even trying it this way was a mere formality. That what he really, really wanted to do it the other way.

"Drop the field. Or we'll have no choice but to drop it, and you, and remember you as a traitor who let her confusion get in the way of her duty. Your choice."

"How..."

Ruby growled(sorry weiss)

"How could you betray her without a second thought?! She was doing her best and...and you..."


​

 

[MyrtenRose]

Those that stepped through the portal emerged to the wondrous, majestic sight of Vacuo, or more specifically Qrow passed out in an alley in Vacuo. Time differences and all.

"...major deja vu." Cinder couldn't help but comment, recalling how she had first met her world's version of Qrow.​

Instead, her answer came from behind her.

"Specialist Helios. As so many in this city seem to have conveniently forgotten, you don't work for Weiss Schnee. You serve the kingdom of Atlas, meaning you report to me."

She frowned at being ignored like such, but when Carnelian himself spoke up in answer, her head slowly turned back to face him.​

Carnelian had stepped to the forefront of the elevator, a faint quirk of amusement to his lips as he traced the tip of his sword down over the hardlight in a manner that was very ungeneral-like.

"The councilwoman is suspected of treason, murder, and state conspiracy on the highest level. These people she's abetting the escape of are in possession of vital kingdom artifacts that quite frankly it's above your paygrade to know about, much less ask. The general you're pointing a gun at and I have been working to untangle her web of lies for months. You want the full story? Watch the news tomorrow morning. Until then, I don't recall it ever being your place to question orders, soldier. Which this very much is."

".........Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight." Gwen started, clearly sounding and looking skeptical as hell at that explanation. Every instinct she had about this mess said otherwise. "That's why you were hiding on top of the elevator before you cut your way down. If this was a sanctioned op, with a legal basis, why are you approaching it not as a soldier but as a sketchy criminal? I'm not seeing any reason to hide away like that, personally. You could have come up here in the elevator itself, like I did. I can't help but wonder about that. Oh, and the company you're keeping." Her eyes flickered towards the blonde woman, and the others if they were beginning to emerge. When her gaze returned to Carnelian, she looked almost insulted. She was one of the smartest minds in the kingdom, seemingly being treated like a gullible idiot.​

Something in his voice suggested that the fact he was even trying it this way was a mere formality. That what he really, really wanted to do it the other way.

"Drop the field. Or we'll have no choice but to drop it, and you, and remember you as a traitor who let her confusion get in the way of her duty. Your choice."

More concerning than that, though, was that he sounded like eager for a fight. Her eyes warily followed his sword as it grazed across the hardlight barrier she had up. She knew well of his reputation as a combatant, could plainly recognize that on the other side of that field they outnumbered her. That if it went down, the odds would be heavily against her, but even so... "I know my duty." She declared, grim determination echoing in all four of those words. The hardlight stayed up, just as Gwen herself didn't budge an inch. "I--"

"James...tell me you aren't really this stupid." Another voice interrupted her as Raven alone strode right back through the portal. Helios blinked, tilted her head for a moment to catch sight of the latest arrival. Raven had a hand around the hilt of her sword again but not yet making any extreme moves. She had no love lost for Weiss Schnee, but the look on her face promised that if Ironwood made good on his threat, she would do all she could to make sure he was next.

Okay then, Gwen thought. She didn't have much of a clue what was actually happening right now, but she could figure out that information later. If she was still alive later, that was. Her attention returned to Carnelian and the others behind the pale blue field separating them, waiting to see how they would respond on their end and steeling herself for whatever came next.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

".........Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight." Gwen started, clearly sounding and looking skeptical as hell at that explanation. Every instinct she had about this mess said otherwise. "That's why you were hiding on top of the elevator before you cut your way down. If this was a sanctioned op, with a legal basis, why are you approaching it not as a soldier but as a sketchy criminal? I'm not seeing any reason to hide away like that, personally. You could have come up here in the elevator itself, like I did. I can't help but wonder about that. Oh, and the company you're keeping." Her eyes flickered towards the blonde woman, and the others if they were beginning to emerge. When her gaze returned to Carnelian, she looked almost insulted. She was one of the smartest minds in the kingdom, seemingly being treated like a gullible idiot.

The demeanor....

The tone of voice...

Ruby's teeth grinded together and her artificial hand whirred and clicked.

Out of all times...Out of all places....

"Yang..."

The corrupted Yang just giggled in an astoundingly frivolous way at the callouts, popping a finger in her mouth and tracing a small x on the hardlight field with a sizzle that just seemed to invigorate her. She took several long, exaggerated steps back to the other side of the elevator, like she was about to take a run-up to a free kick.

Carnelian, for his part, didn't move. Just kept lightly running his sword's tip around the perimeter of the field, not yet applying any pressure.

"Some terrific questions there, specialist. Pity it's not your job to ask questions. In fact, from what I'm surmising an unfortunate truth of this whole affair is that special operative Helios abandoned her job, and her duty, out of some misguided blind loyalty to a corrupt government official and her illicit research grants, leaving responding military officers with no choice but to engage and terminate her without prejudice. Is that right?" He smiled a bit wider, more dangerously. "For my report."

Weiss snorted, a hilariously flippant reaction to recent developments all things considered. Anyone who knew her past a superficial level knew it was probably a smokescreen for the intense brainstorm of prospective plays happening behind the scenes, which was somewhat at odds with her next words.

"He's right, Helios." She said dully, if carefully. "Listen to me. The things he's saying are facts, or soon will be; you cannot stop it. It won't end well for you if you try. The most you can do is be on your way and tell the colonel I said hello—"

"Don't talk," Ironwood advised, jamming the gun against the back of her head more aggressively to force her head down. Unfortunately for Weiss, he had known her long enough and fallen victim to enough veiled commands and subtextual manipulations to give her any leeway now. Raven likewise went ignored, save for an additional stipulation being issued as his concentration stayed firmly where it was.

"If you have any regard for this woman's life I suggest you make sure no one else steps through that portal."

The long-suffering, unruly daughter being a trait so deeply embedded Weiss's core, and as frustrating (and unpleasantly familiar) as the sting of humiliation she felt at being treated this way by someone she'd known so long was, it wasn't altogether surprising when Weiss's indignant pride temporarily overrode all common sense, leading her to ignore his command with a scoff and a roll of the eyes.

"I seriously hope none of you morons are considering doing a single thing 'this man' tells you—"

BANG

She screeched and frantically dropped her head next to the fresh bullet hole in the floor, hands covering her ears as a sudden case of tinnitus temporarily deafened them.

"You're all being remarkably trifling about this." He pointed out, hoping there was no further confusion about how precariously thin a wire the councilwoman's life was dangling from right now.

He hoped. He sincerely did.

"I wouldn't advise it."​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

At the sound of the gunshot, Ember celica had extended into combat form, and Yang had even made it a half step forward before ironwood made his ultimatum and she froze. Call it a credit to Yang’s vibes reading skills, and just how rancid Ironwood’s had been the entire time they’d been in the office, an entire different flavor than what he’d been giving off in her brief tenure at resistance HQ.

Of course, it wasn’t nearly fast enough to do anything to turn this situation on its head or anything, and Yang had taken a slow, begrudging step backwards as her brain tried to play catchup on the xanatos speed chess everyone seemed to be playing around her. She’d started to hold a hand up as Raven stepped through the portal, a sudden “Don’t-!” making it out of her before the rest of her sentence was drowned out by another shot and ultimatum from the general.

She didn’t break eye contact with Ironwood in the silence that followed, didn’t even glance to the side at the very unwelcome sound of her own voice coming from the other side of the room. Just reached over and gently gripped the top of the lantern in Ruby’s arms as she eventually responded.

“Okay. I’ll bite. What’s ugly over there selling that you’re buying Jimmy? You give Ozpin the relics, he leaves Atlas alone?” She asked as she gingerly lifted it out of Ruby’s arms, hoping her sister trusted her enough to let it happen. “I’m supposed to believe that James Ironwood really buys that at face value when he can’t even trust Salem’s people?”

 

[MyrtenRose]

Carnelian, for his part, didn't move. Just kept lightly running his sword's tip around the perimeter of the field, not yet applying any pressure.

"Some terrific questions there, specialist. Pity it's not your job to ask questions. In fact, from what I'm surmising an unfortunate truth of this whole affair is that special operative Helios abandoned her job, and her duty, out of some misguided blind loyalty to a corrupt government official and her illicit research grants, leaving responding military officers with no choice but to engage and terminate her without prejudice. Is that right?" He smiled a bit wider, more dangerously. "For my report."

"Tch." She grunted dismissively, no longer even looking at that contained group. Her stare rested on Ironwood as the man held the councilwoman hostage. "Awfully premature talk from a bunch of trapped rats." Gwen spat back. The glow running across her armored left arm intensified, ostensibly to strengthen the field between them in preparation for any assault they began to inflict upon it. It was not. It was for a different purpose entirely, that of constructing another hardlight field. She just needed the focus, and the opening, which they so graciously gave.​

"I seriously hope none of you morons are considering doing a single thing 'this man' tells you—"

BANG

She screeched and frantically dropped her head next to the fresh bullet hole in the floor, hands covering her ears as a sudden case of tinnitus temporarily deafened them.

In the split-second moment after that pistol shot impacted the ground, she seized her chance. The echo of the gunshot in this enclosed area went ignored as much as possible. A second, far tinier hardlight projection popped into place, courtesy of her. One just small enough to completely block off the muzzle of Ironwood's weapon, something that hopefully went unnoticed from his or anyone else's perspective in the wake of the muzzle flash from his warning shot at the floor. When he pressed it against Weiss's head once more, Gwen's expression remained as stoically serious as ever, but inwardly she was smirking. She had faith that her discreet move would end any threat from that weapon and keep the councilwoman alive if he tried shooting again.

The armor she had constructed, the weapons she made, the tools she created, her semblance that she used to great effect to modify all her creations, they were all potent in their own right, but none of them were the most crucial. The greatest thing in her arsenal was her mind.
​

"If you have any regard for this woman's life I suggest you make sure no one else steps through that portal."

She said nothing, did nothing either, but the expression on her face spoke volumes as she stood there. Still, nobody else had come back through as of yet.
​

At the sound of the gunshot, Ember celica had extended into combat form, and Yang had even made it a half step forward before ironwood made his ultimatum and she froze. Call it a credit to Yang’s vibes reading skills, and just how rancid Ironwood’s had been the entire time they’d been in the office, an entire different flavor than what he’d been giving off in her brief tenure at resistance HQ.

Of course, it wasn’t nearly fast enough to do anything to turn this situation on its head or anything, and Yang had taken a slow, begrudging step backwards as her brain tried to play catchup on the xanatos speed chess everyone seemed to be playing around her. She’d started to hold a hand up as Raven stepped through the portal, a sudden “Don’t-!” making it out of her before the rest of her sentence was drowned out by another shot and ultimatum from the general.

She didn’t break eye contact with Ironwood in the silence that followed, didn’t even glance to the side at the very unwelcome sound of her own voice coming from the other side of the room. Just reached over and gently gripped the top of the lantern in Ruby’s arms as she eventually responded.

“Okay. I’ll bite. What’s ugly over there selling that you’re buying Jimmy? You give Ozpin the relics, he leaves Atlas alone?” She asked as she gingerly lifted it out of Ruby’s arms, hoping her sister trusted her enough to let it happen. “I’m supposed to believe that James Ironwood really buys that at face value when he can’t even trust Salem’s people?”

Believing herself now in control of the situation, Gwen's finger rested on the trigger of her own gun, just about ready to take a shot and blast Ironwood away from the councilwoman with a heavy gravity dust round. Her muscles tensed. This was a delicate and very volatile situation. The wrong move could easily go disastrously bad, but by her judgment, right now all the variables gave her the advantage. The one thing that gave her pause was what Yang brought up. Ozpin, the relics...Helios had no idea what the girl was talking about. Information, learning...that was always something Gwen strived for, but right now...

The man holding the gun against the head of one of Atlas's most esteemed figures had to be taken care of. Knowledge could be learned later, if she made it that far. She steeled herself, trusted in her control over the variables that mattered...and pulled the trigger, a third gunshot echoing in the room intent to knock Ironwood away from Weiss. The projectile had barely left Malware's barrel before Helios rushed towards the councilwoman to cover her if it all worked out as she planned.​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

Earlier
------------------------



“RUBY!”

Penny glanced back in distress as her friend suddenly froze over, only yelp in shock as her leg was suddenly ripped out from under her to send her hurtling in the other direction.

But Penny was always quick on her feet; she was built that way. Not even a quarter of the way through her violent arc, the slot on her back slipped open, and with a graceful flick of her hands six swords swirled around her, severing Cinder’s grimm arm at the wrist and turning her violent throw into a a controlled spin that had her turned right side up in the air just as the storm was beginning to brew, and just in time to see her other, auraless friend get blasted by a fireball

“CINDER!”

The fight hadn’t even started, and it already felt like they’d lost. Maybe if they’d all been together, it would’ve been enough; the prodigal daughter of the finest atlesian technology, a full blown spring maiden, and a silver eyed warrior. Together, they might’ve stood a chance against this other Cinder, even if she was bringing the power of both the fall and spring maidens to bear against them. But Ruby ~~got plot KO’d~~ was frozen solid, and Cinder had rushed ahead and already lost her aura.

It was just Penny. Alone.

She couldn’t even get close enough to Cinder to fight back or try to make it to the other Cinder to see if she was okay, not with the barrage of lighting that forced her to jet for cover behind the ruins of mining equipment that were strewn across the otherwise barren land. “Father!” She called out over the comms. “Please tell me you are almost done, I cannot do this on my- AGHHH!”

The cry of pain that ripped over the resistance’s comms was the sound of her luck and skill, both needed in ludicrous amounts to last even that long against a lightning assault without being hit, running out, and she crashed into ground with a spray of snow as her aura flashed and she rolled to her knees with a stricken look of terror as she looked up at Cinder-

And the tiny beam of green light that was against the back of her head, like someone was pointing a laser pointer at her through the storm.

Right before a much bigger laser slammed into the side of her head like a far more precise and green bolt of lightning itself.

“...???”

Penny was, for the briefest moment, stuck in place, flabbergasted. That beam, her sensors said it was pure- but her father wasn’t done yet, how did-

No, now wasn’t the time for that, and in the span of time between Cinder recovering from that blast and trying to locate her new assailant through the storm she’d created, as second, lighter green beam of light tore through the night sky for her from in front of her Penny, called forth by a spinning array of her swords from in front of her.

 

[MyrtenRose]

Flashback Post

But Penny was always quick on her feet; she was built that way. Not even a quarter of the way through her violent arc, the slot on her back slipped open, and with a graceful flick of her hands six swords swirled around her, severing Cinder’s grimm arm at the wrist and turning her violent throw into a a controlled spin that had her turned right side up in the air just as the storm was beginning to brew, and just in time to see her other, auraless friend get blasted by a fireball

“CINDER!”

Penny's alarmed and concerned yell was joined by two screams of pain, the voices of both Cinders blending together in response to near simultaneous attacks. The older, malicious one hovered in place, arm writhing around as it violently regrew the appendage it had just lost. It sounded and looked as painful as it did disgusting. The younger one fell several dozen feet before she managed to right herself in the air. She didn't have aura(that much even more evident by the burn marks that lined her sleeveless arms), but she still had the magic of the maiden keeping her afloat. The teenager would have shouted back that she was okay, but a glimpse of the frozen Ruby falling through the sky put the ixnay on that. The blue flames shooting out of the heel of her boots suddenly EXPLODED with intensity as she soared that way. Faster faster faster faster must go faster, Cinder's thoughts raced just as much as the girl herself was.

The wind was a fierce howl on her ears as she sped up with each passing second, but she managed to catch up and grab hold of the frozen huntress. Immediately she reversed direction, the jets of flame pushing her straight up enough so the pair's descent speed slowed down dramatically. Eventually the two came to a relatively gentle halt upon the snowy ground and the teenager let out a sigh of relief. Truth be told, she had no idea how aura worked within there, if it would prevent the frozen Ruby from cracking or shattering from a forceful impact, but she was not going to take the risk in finding out.

She took one last look at Ruby before her head snapped up to catch sight of Penny.​

It was just Penny. Alone.

She couldn’t even get close enough to Cinder to fight back or try to make it to the other Cinder to see if she was okay, not with the barrage of lighting that forced her to jet for cover behind the ruins of mining equipment that were strewn across the otherwise barren land. “Father!” She called out over the comms. “Please tell me you are almost done, I cannot do this on my- AGHHH!”

The cry of pain that ripped over the resistance’s comms was the sound of her luck and skill, both needed in ludicrous amounts to last even that long against a lightning assault without being hit, running out, and she crashed into ground with a spray of snow as her aura flashed and she rolled to her knees with a stricken look of terror as she looked up at Cinder-

By that point, her evil older asshole self had more than recovered from the loss of her monstrous wrist. The bitch was bringing Penny down! The teenager winced at the cry of pain, this time it was her turn to call out with "PENNY!" She started forward in a sprint, she may have had no aura but she was going to--skid to a sudden, abrupt halt by what she just witnessed.

As the grimm hybrid hovered there with a cruel smile on her face, it got wiped the hell off her face by what followed, much to her younger double's satisfaction.​

And the tiny beam of green light that was against the back of her head, like someone was pointing a laser pointer at her through the storm.

Right before a much bigger laser slammed into the side of her head like a far more precise and green bolt of lightning itself.

“...???”

Penny was, for the briefest moment, stuck in place, flabbergasted. That beam, her sensors said it was pure- but her father wasn’t done yet, how did-

No, now wasn’t the time for that, and in the span of time between Cinder recovering from that blast and trying to locate her new assailant through the storm she’d created, as second, lighter green beam of light tore through the night sky for her from in front of her Penny, called forth by a spinning array of her swords from in front of her.

That. Rocked. Her. World.

The huge blast was so unexpected and so powerful that she almost got knocked down into the ground herself. It was at literally the last second that she managed to avoid that fate, jets of flame blasting outward as she rose back into the sky, head swiftly turning from left to right as she tried to get a bead on what had just hit her. Cinder didn't manage to zero in on it. There wasn't enough free time for that. Her attention got swiftly pulled back down to earth as another energy beam came rushing for her, this time definitely courtesy of Penny.

Her teeth gritted together in annoyance. The stupid bot should have just stayed down. A massive ball of fire erupted in the air around the hybrid double maiden before it came together and she unleashed it all as a counter blast to meet Penny's own.

The Cinder of this world didn't stay put watching that. Lack of aura be damned! So she couldn't get up close and personal in an extensive brawl with her dark counterpart, fine. She could still help, and she refused to let Penny go at it alone(?)

She flew into the air while the other two were caught up in that, but she kept her distance and even went higher up in the sky, looking downward at the maniac that shared her name. "Eat this, bitch." Cinder muttered to herself with a smile, slamming her two blades together into the form she was most comfortable with.

Spoiler