Fandom Distorted Mirror [IC]

[Gus Gungus]

"Whatever. You were the one who spoke to me first, I was just fine sitting here and ignoring you." ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Vernal took another bite of pizza, eyes narrowing at a hint of movement in the shadows of the trees out in the distance...but she saw no further movement, that treeline rapidly falling out of sight as the train sped along. "Oh yeah. The mighty, scary Taurus. Everyone beware."

"Oh, shut up." She sneered back bluntly, Vernal getting that prickly feeling that inevitably came with those hidden eyes turning in one's direction, though her attention wasn't specifically on the bandit. She'd noticed the movement in the wilderness too. "Spare me the front, human. I see through you. You act so frivolous and dismissive of everything, but you haven't been able to last a single conversation here without trying to goad someone you know is weaker into making a move on you. You want nothing more than to show off your power, but you're too coward to take the initiative; so you bark and bark all day long. Forgive me for having no faith in my peace remaining undisturbed."​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

Yang glanced up towards the ceiling seat club from where she'd slouched in her chair during her attempts to make herself focus on her browsing with an annoyed frown

"Hey, girls? You do know we can totally hear you from here, right? Can you maybe take your alpha p-"

"SHIT!"

Yang blinked a few times and craned her neck towards Watts' sudden outburst. "Okay first, watch your language bud, and second, it's ok if you don't want to grow the mustache, my uncle's just-"

"Kindly shut the fuck up with the witty banter for a few minutes!" Watts snapped with a level of vitriol that was caustic even by his standards, and while Yang wasn't one to be intimidated by that kind of nonsense it was enough to startle her into a deeper frown as she sat up and watched the boy rapidly drum his fingers on the table with his other hand grasping at his hair while his scroll went through what felt like an eternity rebooting. The moment the login screen flickered back to life his hands were moving a mile a minute as he scrambled to burn whatever tracks he'd left.

"....everything good?'

"No"

 

[Gus Gungus]

Yang glanced up towards the ceiling seat club from where she'd slouched in her chair during her attempts to make herself focus on her browsing with an annoyed frown

"Hey, girls? You do know we can totally hear you from here, right? Can you maybe take your alpha p-"

"And they can hear you all the way in the front car, but I don't see them whining." She retorted with a muted glower, shifting to settle further in against the glass and try to ignore the commotion the smart one was kicking up

 

[MyrtenRose]

"Oh, shut up." She sneered back bluntly, Vernal getting that prickly feeling that inevitably came with those hidden eyes turning in one's direction, though her attention wasn't specifically on the bandit. She'd noticed the movement in the wilderness too. "Spare me the front, human. I see through you. You act so frivolous and dismissive of everything, but you haven't been able to last a single conversation here without trying to goad someone you know is weaker into making a move on you. You want nothing more than to show off your power, but you're too coward to take the initiative; so you bark and bark all day long. Forgive me for having no faith in my peace remaining undisturbed."​

For the briefest of moments, Vernal had turned towards with a less...tense look, trying to ask with just her expression if Eve had seen that too. But the moment passed in the wake of all those biting words. "Hey now, give me some credit." She countered. "Sure, some of it was me absolutely trying to rile you up. It...passes the time. What can I say?" Vernal shrugged again. "But that wasn't all of it, and I sure ain't actually trying to get you to really take a swing. Not really interested in wrecking this train in the process. No, no. See, some of that was actually genuine, believe it or not. Yeah. Not even someone living out in the wilderness missed out on hearing stories about the powerful Eve Taurus."

"I mean...it can't be all talk about you. Right? Not just anybody could lead a schism like that in the cult of faunus terrorists. Your skill, your ability to lead...it has to be--" ​

Yang glanced up towards the ceiling seat club from where she'd slouched in her chair during her attempts to make herself focus on her browsing with an annoyed frown

"Hey, girls? You do know we can totally hear you from here, right? Can you maybe take your alpha p-"

"SHIT!"

The bandit maiden fell silent at the interruption, eyes shifting from looking at Eve down towards the rest below. She would have said something about not caring about being overheard but...her eyebrows raised at the other one who had in turn interrupted their interrupter.​

Yang blinked a few times and craned her neck towards Watts' sudden outburst. "Okay first, watch your language bud, and second, it's ok if you don't want to grow the mustache, my uncle's just-"

"Kindly shut the fuck up with the witty banter for a few minutes!" Watts snapped with a level of vitriol that was caustic even by his standards, and while Yang wasn't one to be intimidated by that kind of nonsense it was enough to startle her into a deeper frown as she sat up and watched the boy rapidly drum his fingers on the table with his other hand grasping at his hair while his scroll went through what felt like an eternity rebooting. The moment the login screen flickered back to life his hands were moving a mile a minute as he scrambled to burn whatever tracks he'd left.

"....everything good?'

"No"

"...Well don't keep us waiting in suspense up here." Vernal eventually stated, legs impatiently lightly kicking through the air. That little outburst was at least enough in her eyes to find out what the fuck could have provoked it. "Did you break your toys or what?"​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"Kindly shut the fuck up with the witty banter for a few minutes!" Watts snapped with a level of vitriol that was caustic even by his standards, and while Yang wasn't one to be intimidated by that kind of nonsense it was enough to startle her into a deeper frown as she sat up and watched the boy rapidly drum his fingers on the table with his other hand grasping at his hair while his scroll went through what felt like an eternity rebooting. The moment the login screen flickered back to life his hands were moving a mile a minute as he scrambled to burn whatever tracks he'd left.

"....everything good?'

"No"

Simply put, Watts found his device riddled with spyware, keylogs, minor tracking scripts, that kind of thing; some were even embedded in programs he already had installed and ran in the background while they did. They were things he could isolate manually with some concentration, effort and time, but appeared undetectable by conventional antimalware scanners.

"Uh... You accidentally delete your save?" Crow Qrow ventured, wrongly.

 

[Gus Gungus]

For the briefest of moments, Vernal had turned towards with a less...tense look, trying to ask with just her expression if Eve had seen that too. But the moment passed in the wake of all those biting words. "Hey now, give me some credit." She countered. "Sure, some of it was me absolutely trying to rile you up. It...passes the time. What can I say?" Vernal shrugged again. "But that wasn't all of it, and I sure ain't actually trying to get you to actually take a swing. Not really interested in wrecking this train in the process. No, no. See, some of that was actually genuine, believe it or not. Yeah. Not even someone living out in the wilderness missed out on hearing stories about the powerful Eve Taurus."

"I mean...it can't be all talk about you. Right? Not just anybody could lead a schism like that in the cult of faunus terrorists. Your skill, your ability to lead...it has to be--"

"...Well don't keep us waiting in suspense up here." Vernal eventually stated, legs impatiently lightly kicking through the air. That little outburst was at least enough in her eyes to find out what the fuck could have provoked it. "Did you break your toys or what?"

Her face ended up swiveling back towards the bandit at that, mostly hidden between her bandana and sleeve but mouth painted in a thin frown, oddly dismayed that Vernal's phrasing had ended up veering towards the complimentary. Or just suspicious. Her brow furrowed, features tight, gaze staying rigid on the maiden even when her attention was drawn away, suspicion driving her to fish for the angle behind the words.

"Cult? Terrorists? Let's get one thing clear. The White Fang are a force of revolution. You humans might find our ideas unpopular, but each and every one of you knows in your heart of hearts that threatening the way of life holding my people hostage doesn't make me evil. If it were a human cause I championed? Hnh. You'd all be singing my heroism."

She snorted and let her eyes drift away again, watching as the train carried them across a bridge over a sheer drop into a ravine.

"But there are some who say I'm not what I was."

 

[MyrtenRose]

Her face ended up swiveling back towards the bandit at that, mostly hidden between her bandana and sleeve but mouth painted in a thin frown, oddly dismayed that Vernal's phrasing had ended up veering towards the complimentary. Or just suspicious. Her brow furrowed, features tight, gaze staying rigid on the maiden even when her attention was drawn away, suspicion driving her to fish for the angle behind the words.

"Cult? Terrorists? Let's get one thing clear. The White Fang are a force of revolution. You humans might find our ideas unpopular, but each and every one of you knows in your heart of hearts that threatening the way of life holding my people hostage doesn't make me evil. If it were a human cause I championed? Hnh. You'd all be singing my heroism."

"Yeah, yeah. That whole thing. One person's terrorist is someone else's freedom fighter. It don't make a difference to me what you want to be called. Cult, terrorists, freedom fighters, force of revolution. Whatever. You'd never get me singing your heroism no matter what cause you backed. But..." She smirked. "From one criminal to another, I can respect you not putting up with the ineffectual bullshit from weak willed leaders. Sometimes you just have to take what you know is yours, no matter what others might think. Bandit life, it's pretty great." Vernal snickered. "Freeing, too." ​

She snorted and let her eyes drift away again, watching as the train carried them across a bridge over a sheer drop into a ravine.

"But there are some who say I'm not what I was."

"Oh yeah? So what they say? The usual shit like traitor?"​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"Yeah, yeah. That whole thing. One person's terrorist is someone else's freedom fighter. It don't make a difference to me what you want to be called. Cult, terrorists, freedom fighters, force of revolution. Whatever. You'd never get me singing your heroism no matter what cause you backed. But..." She smirked. "From one criminal to another, I can respect you not putting up with the ineffectual bullshit from weak willed leaders. Sometimes you just have to take what you know is yours, no matter what others might think. Bandit life, it's pretty great." Vernal snickered. "Freeing, too."

Eve was largely silent at that, the bandit managing a first in offering a perspective the faunus actually hadn't heard before. She was certain it was a truism Sienna had been hearing plenty of lately, though. 'We want similar things; we're not so different.'

The swordswoman's rebuttal was quiet, perhaps lacking in its usual bite, but still carried an undercurrent of all the potent fierceness of an animal backed into a corner.

"We might not be so different, but we aren't the same. It was written all over your face when you clashed with those students earlier; you're scared of dying. I don't care what happens to me. My life is a tool meant for the liberation of faunus. You bandits take what doesn't belong to you. I'm just taking back what was stolen from us."

Then she smirked, dark and vicious.

"But you're absolutely right. It feels terrific."

"Oh yeah? So what they say? The usual shit like traitor?"

She scoffed and turned back to face her, expression half-obscured by the blindfold but still smouldering with incorrigible fire.

"TAURUS! Turn around, traitor!"

"Whatever."

"...You'll just never be able to resist trying to play the hero, huh?"

"Helps."

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

"Them."

White Fang: To the Rescue?

"Sleep at night."

The ultimate legacy of the White Fang, perhaps of all faunus, was hanging in a precarious balance. Some might've observed that Eve Taurus stood as a representation of that fragile balance, the eye at the center of the storm. Was she justice or vengeance? Righteousness or rage? The hero or the monster?

The only thing she knew for sure was that she wasn't Sienna. They were alike in that Eve, too, never questioned the actions she took in the name of the faunus, but that was where the similarities ended. She knew anyone who did what she did had forfeited the right to be called a hero by most a long time ago, but she'd long since stopped caring how history was going to remember her, how her actions might be twisted or perceived by the publicity machines of faunus and human alike. She knew her own heart. She knew where she stood and where the line she'd never cross was in relation, and she knew that no matter how close she came to skirting its border, that line would remain uncrossed. Wars had sides, and she was always destined to be known as a monster by the opposing one.

The time was she thought herself similarly fated to be remembered as a hero to the other, but then the time came when all that intoxicating honor and glory started leading her down a path that was anything but honorable and glorious. Now both those times were past, and she was just a woman following a truth. Her own truth, the truth that came from dispelling the great lie woven by humans throughout history. That truth gave her meaning. Before that truth, she hadn't been anything. She was pathetic. She was scared. She was weak.

Now she was none of those things. And she didn't need the glorification of the many when she could reap that same fulfillment every time she changed someone's life, the light in their eyes as that eternal question received an irrefutable answer in their mind, regardless of the rest of the world's thoughts. Hero or monster?

Or̳̥ͅ ̲̥̮͔̩ͅẉ̜͇̘͓͈e̝̙̠a̦̖̭̬͟k̫li̻͈̞͈n̶̼͍̯ͅg̞͙̖̟̝̠͍͞?

The thought that interjected with her own voice made her hiss in a frustrated breath, and the hands on her knees formed claw shapes. She stretched and stood up, as light as a feather for all the light fixture seemed to register the shift in weight.

"...You know as well as I do whatever's following us is no grimm. Since we clearly both enjoy being high up so much, why don't we take a walk?"​

 

[MyrtenRose]

The swordswoman's rebuttal was quiet, perhaps lacking in its usual bite, but still carried an undercurrent of all the potent fierceness of an animal backed into a corner.

"We might not be so different, but we aren't the same. It was written all over your face when you clashed with those students earlier; you're scared of dying. I don't care what happens to me. My life is a tool meant for the liberation of faunus.

It was abundantly clear just from the expression on Vernal's face and her body language that she wasn't overly fond of being called out on her fears like that...but she didn't say an actual word to deny the truth in what the White Fang leader said. They weren't that different, but there was a few important ones. Chief among them that Vernal lived her way out of pure selfishness and the thrill of it all, caring nothing for preying on the weak and taking what they needed for the tribe to live. Eve stood apart. The faunus girl was motivated by devotion to an ideal future, one in which she thought nothing of sacrificing herself if it meant they got to that future. A foolish idea as far as the bandit was concerned, just as pointless a sacrifice as many had given in Salem's never-ending war against Ozpin. But the Spring Maiden did not voice her opinion on that either. Instead...
​

You bandits take what doesn't belong to you. I'm just taking back what was stolen from us."

"That is one way to spin it." She acknowledged.
​

Then she smirked, dark and vicious.

"But you're absolutely right. It feels terrific."

"Damn straight it does." She agreed with a savage grin of her own.
​

"Whatever."

"Helps."

"Them."

"Sleep at night."

"Hrm." Vernal grunted in a noncommittal manner, scrutinizing eyes studying Eve...and then relenting, falling back into a more relaxed look. Yeah. So many people needed something to cling to just to sleep. Whatever that thing might be.
​

The thought that interjected with her own voice made her hiss in a frustrated breath, and the hands on her knees formed claw shapes. She stretched and stood up, as light as a feather for all the light fixture seemed to register the shift in weight.

"...You know as well as I do whatever's following us is no grimm. Since we clearly both enjoy being high up so much, why don't we take a walk?"

...So she had seen that too. That wasn't so surprising, but the very unexpected offer definitely was.

Vernal mulled it over as she looked over at Eve, followed by a quick glance over her shoulder at the lands they were shooting past. When she turned back, she shrugged. "Sure. Why the hell not." She replied, following suit in standing and thumbing over to the exit. "Ladies first." She couldn't help but say mockingly.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

...So she had seen that too. That wasn't so surprising, but the very unexpected offer definitely was.

Vernal mulled it over as she looked over at Eve, followed by a quick glance over her shoulder at the lands they were shooting past. When she turned back, she shrugged. "Sure. Why the hell not." She replied, following suit in standing and thumbing over to the exit. "Ladies first." She couldn't help but say mockingly.

She gave a flat, mirthless snort at the remark and dropped from her perch, boots thudding loudly against the desk surface right next to Yang's head in spite of what by all rights seemed to be ninja-tier grace and coordination as she stepped right off to slide open the carriage door and depart.

Once between cars, she craned her neck up at the night sky to peer into the gloom and leaped, hands gripping the edge of the train to swing herself up onto the roof.

 

[MyrtenRose]

She gave a flat, mirthless snort at the remark and dropped from her perch, boots thudding loudly against the desk surface right next to Yang's head in spite of what by all rights seemed to be ninja-tier grace and coordination as she stepped right off to slide open the carriage door and depart.

Once between cars, she craned her neck up at the night sky to peer into the gloom and leaped, hands gripping the edge of the train to swing herself up onto the roof.

"What, nothing? Just a snort?" Vernal couldn't hide her disappointment, casually dropping down immediately after. She hesitated for a second and looked over towards Watts, still sort of curious about what the hell that had been about. "...Try not to break anything else, huh? And hey, if anybody wants to fill me in on what the hell that was when I get back...that'd be greeeeeeeat. Y'know, for curiosity's sake." That much said, she strode on after Eve and once between cars, Vernal quickly peered through the windows on the doors on both cars. Not a single person that didn't already know was looking her way.

The bandit eschewed jumping up in favor of levitating up, landing solidly on her boots with a thud that was almost a whisper compared to the sound of the wind rushing around them as the train pressed on. "So. Any clue what it is?"

Vernal asked out of the corner of her mouth, already looking in the direction when she'd last seen the hint of movement.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"What, nothing? Just a snort?" Vernal couldn't hide her disappointment, casually dropping down immediately after. She hesitated for a second and looked over towards Watts, still sort of curious about what the hell that had been about. "...Try not to break anything else, huh? And hey, if anybody wants to fill me in on what the hell that was when I get back...that'd be greeeeeeeat. Y'know, for curiosity's sake." That much said, she strode on after Eve and once between cars, Vernal quickly peered through the windows on the doors on both cars. Not a single person that didn't already know was looking her way.

The bandit eschewed jumping up in favor of levitating up, landing solidly on her boots with a thud that was almost a whisper compared to the sound of the wind rushing around them as the train pressed on. "So. Any clue what it is?"

Vernal asked out of the corner of her mouth, already looking in the direction when she'd last seen the hint of movement.​

"No." She returned brusquely, no doubt continuing to wow with her conversational skills. Her eyes were already following a similar course themselves, faunus eyes hard at work trying to pick out anything that resembled what she'd seen as she put a hand on her hilt.

 

[MyrtenRose]

"No." She returned brusquely, no doubt continuing to wow with her conversational skills. Her eyes were already following a similar course themselves, faunus eyes hard at work trying to pick out anything that resembled what she'd seen as she put a hand on her hilt.

"...guess it ain't your charisma that got enough of yours to follow ya when you split off, huh?" Vernal remarked, more sarcastic than usual. Even squinting, the bandit couldn't make anything out in the night. Eve, however...the night vision common to faunus allowed her to see what the maiden could not among the trees of the forest around them. Brief blurs of motion, a shadow in the moonlight across the ground here and there. Whatever or whoever it was, they were doing remarkably well in keeping pace with the train and managing to keep largely out of sight.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"...guess it ain't your charisma that got enough of yours to follow ya when you split off, huh?" Vernal remarked, more sarcastic than usual. Even squinting, the bandit couldn't make anything out in the night. Eve, however...the night vision common to faunus allowed her to see what the maiden could not among the trees of the forest around them. Brief blurs of motion, a shadow in the moonlight across the ground here and there. Whatever or whoever it was, they were doing remarkably well in keeping pace with the train and managing to keep largely out of sight.​

"No. My conviction." She declared back, the sheer aura of righteous confidence pouring off her enough to give Vernal a small taste of just what it was that might've inspired such dedication. Eve was passion, channeled and honed into the shape of a blade that could slice anything, and when she spoke it wasn't a way with words but a storm of sincere devotion to a shared cause that made her the leader among so many. Along with a pinch of pure strength. "In the trees. Keeping pace with us. Right..."

She withdrew Wilt with a shiiiiing, holding it level with her good eye and doing her best to keep the point trained on whatever was alongside them.

"...There. Well? Gonna take your chance to show me what a maiden can do?"

 

[MyrtenRose]

"No. My conviction." She declared back, the sheer aura of righteous confidence pouring off her enough to give Vernal a small taste of just what it was that might've inspired such dedication. Eve was passion, channeled and honed into the shape of a blade that could slice anything, and when she spoke it wasn't a way with words but a storm of sincere devotion to a shared cause that made her the leader among so many. Along with a pinch of pure strength. "In the trees. Keeping pace with us. Right..."

She withdrew Wilt with a shiiiiing, holding it level with her good eye and doing her best to keep the point trained on whatever was alongside them.

"...There. Well? Gonna take your chance to show me what a maiden can do?"

"Alrighty then. You don't lack for that, at least." Vernal snickered, plainly amused by that. She glanced over to where Eve stood pointing out with her blade and did her best to follow that line of sight, squinting again and even leaning slightly forward. "I still can't see a damn thing." She complained in obvious annoyance. "I'll just take your word for it." The bandit took a few steps closer to the edge of the train, the corner of her eyes suddenly flaring with an intense bright blue. Vernal held out both hands, and the relatively clear night sky quickly swirled with heavy storm clouds. A bolt of lightning shot down almost instantaneously after the clouds had settled, striking the general spot Eve was pointing at. It lit up the surrounding area for a brief moment, just long enough for Vernal to take a better look.

She hadn't hit anything, and neither she or Eve now saw even the faintest hint of anything moving among the trees. "...Are you sure there was something there?"​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

Watts was very good at what he did. He understood computers the same way Ruby did weapons, and in their brief friendship before the inhuman tragedy at Amnity he'd put even Penny through her paces when it came to understanding the electronic world that connected the kingdoms. As arrogant as it was to call himself one of the best at such a young age, it was the most annoying form of arrogance; correct.

But there was always a bigger fish.

He hadn't dropped into this proclivity completely of his own accord. He'd been surrounded by technology from a very young age. His parents worked in Schnee Corp R&D, and did much of their work from home, and the fact that Watts had shared their interest in such things was the only reason the family had any sort of bond at all. Yet it was one thing to learn about computers and scrolls and their inner workings, and another entirely to learn how to break them open across your metaphorical knee to get in the secrets within. No, that had come later, when a certain professor at Atlas Academy found himself teaching a young boy with a deep understanding of technology and an even deeper resentment of the Atlas establishment. New lessons joined the ones about grimm biology, and Watts learned the right wires to cut instead of bones, how to read the flow of code instead of follow a beowolf's tracks. He learned. He excelled, and he used those newfound skills to occasionally help his mentor and much more often to satiate his own curiosity about the secrets that kept their city coasting in the air above mantle

Until the day he turned over the wrong rock. Or was it the right one? His swiftness in accepting the existence of magic wasn't entirely unrelated for certain, but all that he knew at the time was that his mentor suddenly left him out in the cold and in Ironwood's crosshairs. A shot the general didn't hesitate to take, and one that would've left a less determined boy cut off from every avenue to his dream of being a hunter. He got out from under his mentor's thumb, found new friends and purpose, and that should have been the end of that.

Clearly, Dr. Merlot had other plans and potentially allegiances Arthur would have never guessed at, and as fast as Arthur was working, he doubted it was going to be fast enough to completely cut his old mentor off from where they were. And it didn't help-

"...Well don't keep us waiting in suspense up here." Vernal eventually stated, legs impatiently lightly kicking through the air. That little outburst was at least enough in her eyes to find out what the fuck could have provoked it. "Did you-"

"Shut up."

-that everyone just would not-

Simply put, Watts found his device riddled with spyware, keylogs, minor tracking scripts, that kind of thing; some were even embedded in programs he already had installed and ran in the background while they did. They were things he could isolate manually with some concentration, effort and time, but appeared undetectable by conventional antimalware scanners.

"Uh... You accidentally-?" Crow Qrow ventured, wrongly.

"Shut up!"

-STOP TALKING.

His brain wasn't even entirely focused on the quarantining and elimination of the various little viruses. as fast as he was working; there were enough that something was going to slip through. Were they just screwed then? If Merlot was working with Ozpin's lackey's, how likely was it that a schnee corp cruise missile was going to just annihilate this train before they even got to the next station? The data was going to get through. Did it have to be the right data?

He swiftly focused his efforts on clearing his search functions, a few beads of sweat dripping down his forehead despite his only motion coming from his fingers. If Lionheart was a traitor the enemy already knew their destination, so anything going the wrong direction would be picked apart as wrong. No other rail lines were making the trip there at the same time; he'd learned that earlier. This was an important mission; it wouldn't be unreasonable that Salem would give them proper transport for it, and Ozpin obviously hadn't known where the maiden was if the only thing defending her was that pack of drunkards and she was still alive, so the exact trajectory could be questioned. What could make the trip directly from Vale to Mistral?

There was only one answer, and a thousand feet up and two miles to the west, the onboard computer of a cargo airship making a routine trip suddenly flickered with an excess of data. Code was dumped, connections were forced, and a copilot was suddenly very confused as to why his scroll had suddenly locked him out. He tried to put in his password with a frown

'Incorrect login for user Arthur Watts'

Back on the train, Arthur let his head thump against the desk with a deep, shaky sigh. He could take his time torching the rest of the viruses; as far as his geographic data was going to be concerned for the next few hours, he was already zooming well past the train on a direct flight to Haven. Hopefully he'd done his work fast enough, and hopefully he hadn't just painted too big a target on someone else.

 

[Gus Gungus]

"Alrighty then. You don't lack for that, at least." Vernal snickered, plainly amused by that. She glanced over to where Eve stood pointing out with her blade and did her best to follow that line of sight, squinting again and even leaning slightly forward. "I still can't see a damn thing." She complained in obvious annoyance. "I'll just take your word for it." The bandit took a few steps closer to the edge of the train, the corner of her eyes suddenly flaring with an intense bright blue. Vernal held out both hands, and the relatively clear night sky quickly swirled with heavy storm clouds. A bolt of lightning shot down almost instantaneously after the clouds had settled, striking the general spot Eve was pointing at. It lit up the surrounding area for a brief moment, just long enough for Vernal to take a better look.

She hadn't hit anything, and neither she or Eve now saw even the faintest hint of anything moving among the trees. "...Are you sure there was something there?"​

"You missed." She pointed out observantly, but the words were the product of a body that was no longer there; Eve was in the trees herself, having leapt for them the moment Vernal's lightning illuminated the area. She swung around one branch to alight on another and immediately took to dashing through them with speed and precision, having taken a mental picture of what the landscape looked like with the bonus of Vernal's light source. She was trying to cut off its escape, throwing herself somewhere in the path of the direction it had been moving in and immediately making a beeline for the last point she'd seen the shape, instinctively heading for the most likely avenue of escape as she whipped her gaze around for signs of a trail.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"You missed." She pointed out observantly, but the words were the product of a body that was no longer there; Eve was in the trees herself, having leapt for them the moment Vernal's lightning illuminated the area. She swung around one branch to alight on another and immediately took to dashing through them with speed and precision, having taken a mental picture of what the landscape looked like with the bonus of Vernal's light source. She was trying to cut off its escape, throwing herself somewhere in the path of the direction it had been moving in and immediately making a beeline for the last point she'd seen the shape, instinctively heading for the most likely avenue of escape as she whipped her gaze around for signs of a trail.​

"Excuse me, what--" The person she was talking to was no longer there. "HEY!" She called out, cupping her hands around her mouth. "I was FOLLOWING your AIM, if anyone missed, it was YOU." Her hands lowered back to her sides after that, eyes likewise lowering to the train she was standing on. Would...was she fast enough to catch back up with the train? She was a member of the group that came to their camp...they wouldn't like it if the faunus got left behind, right? These were important questions.

She stood there considering it for a second before "fuck it" and followed with a jump of her own. She knew for sure she'd be able to catch back up with the train if it came to it, would just have to drag the bull along for the flight.

Once she landed atop one of the tree branches, she pushed off to start soaring through the air, keeping up with Eve as she made her way around...but...all they ended up seeing was a whole load of nothing. Not a thing that stood out in the forest apart from themselves, the only thing they could hear was the soft breeze of the wind coursing through the leaves and around them. A ball of fire crackled to life in Vernal's right hand, and the bandit scanned the area more thoroughly. There were footprints, but...faded. Far too old to have belonged to anything recent.

Other than that? Absolutely zero signs. "..."​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"Excuse me, what--" The person she was talking to was no longer there. "HEY!" She called out, cupping her hands around her mouth. "I was FOLLOWING your AIM, if anyone missed, it was YOU." Her hands lowered back to her sides after that, eyes likewise lowering to the train she was standing on. Would...was she fast enough to catch back up with the train? She was a member of the group that came to their camp...they wouldn't like it if the faunus got left behind, right? These were important questions.

She stood there considering it for a second before "fuck it" and followed with a jump of her own. She knew for sure she'd be able to catch back up with the train if it came to it, would just have to drag the bull along for the flight.

Once she landed atop one of the tree branches, she pushed off to start soaring through the air, keeping up with Eve as she made her way around...but...all they ended up seeing was a whole load of nothing. Not a thing that stood out in the forest apart from themselves, the only thing they could hear was the soft breeze of the wind coursing through the leaves and around them. A ball of fire crackled to life in Vernal's right hand, and the bandit scanned the area. There were footprints, but...faded. Far too old to have belonged to anything recent.

Other than that? Absolutely zero signs. "..."

She made sure to keep alongside the train, and when it became apparent the thing had bolted Eve gave a frustrated snarl and jumped back to the roof of the car before it pulled too far ahead.

"..."

She sat down with her legs crossed and waited, focusing intently on the area around their own car with intensity and patience. Logic dictated that if whatever that was had really been following them, it would come back.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

She made sure to keep alongside the train, and when it became apparent the thing had bolted Eve gave a frustrated snarl and jumped back to the roof of the car before it pulled too far ahead.

"..."

She sat down with her legs crossed and waited, focusing intently on the area around their own car with intensity and patience. Logic dictated that if whatever that was had really been following them, it would come back.​

...that answered that. Why did I even bother following after? She rolled her eyes, quickly rising into the air and making sure to stay above and behind the train so nobody in any compartment witnessed somebody flying through the air without a care. She dropped onto the roof soon after, striding with her hands jammed into her pockets over to where Eve sat. She stood there in silence staring with a frown at the White Fang leader for a handful of seconds.

"Your fault." Vernal deadpanned, turning to look over everything they passed by.

No matter how hard or how long they looked, there was no further indication of anything moving alongside the tracks the train was following.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

...that answered that. Why did I even bother following after? She rolled her eyes, quickly rising into the air and making sure to stay above and behind the train so nobody in any compartment witnessed somebody flying through the air without a care. She dropped onto the roof soon after, striding with her hands jammed into her pockets over to where Eve sat. She stood there in silence staring with a frown at the White Fang leader for a handful of seconds.

"Your fault." Vernal deadpanned, turning to look over everything they passed by.

No matter how hard or how long they looked, there was no further indication of anything moving alongside the tracks the train was following.

"Your powers don't seem that great." She judged frankly, her long tangle of hair whipping out past her shoulders from the wind. She herself didn't move, rigid as a statue for as long as it took to become apparent the thing wasn't coming back, and when she spoke again there was a strange hint of resignation in her tone.

"You might as well go back inside. I'm staying."

She had been given a purpose for the first time on this mission, a target to sink her teeth into and allow her to exert some kind of influence that didn't simply make her the subject of scorn and mockery, a feat to stop these humans from being so goddamn dismissive of her. She wasn't sure that was coming now, but that didn't mean she wasn't willing to hold out hope.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

Back on the train, Arthur let his head thump against the desk with a deep, shaky sigh. He could take his time torching the rest of the viruses; as far as his geographic data was going to be concerned for the next few hours, he was already zooming well past the train on a direct flight to Haven. Hopefully he'd done his work fast enough, and hopefully he hadn't just painted too big a target on someone else.

"So...want to explain what that was about now?" Raven questioned, still not having even moved an inch from where she sat this whole time.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"Your powers don't seem that great." She judged frankly, her long tangle of hair whipping out past her shoulders from the wind. She herself didn't move, rigid as a statue for as long as it took to become apparent the thing wasn't coming back, and when she spoke again there was a strange hint of resignation in her tone.

"You might as well go back inside. I'm staying."

She had been given a purpose for the first time on this mission, a target to sink her teeth into and allow her to exert some kind of influence that didn't simply make her the subject of scorn and mockery, a feat to stop these humans being so goddamn dismissive of her. She wasn't sure that was coming now, but that didn't mean she wasn't willing to hold out hope.​

The maiden herself didn't exactly disagree with that statement, her frown deepening as she stood there. "...not for finding some mystery in the woods, anyway." Vernal replied. The magic definitely lent itself more to combat than scouring through the woods looking for...whatever it had been. She stood there with crossed arms, hardly seeming to notice the wind or the cold despite being sleeveless. "Stayin' for what?" ​

 

[Indolent]

Watts was very good at what he did. He understood computers the same way Ruby did weapons, and in their brief friendship before the inhuman tragedy at Amnity he'd put even Penny through her paces when it came to understanding the electronic world that connected the kingdoms. As arrogant as it was to call himself one of the best at such a young age, it was the most annoying form of arrogance; correct.

But there was always a bigger fish.

He hadn't dropped into this proclivity completely of his own accord. He'd been surrounded by technology from a very young age. His parents worked in Schnee Corp R&D, and did much of their work from home, and the fact that Watts had shared their interest in such things was the only reason the family had any sort of bond at all. Yet it was one thing to learn about computers and scrolls and their inner workings, and another entirely to learn how to break them open across your metaphorical knee to get in the secrets within. No, that had come later, when a certain professor at Atlas Academy found himself teaching a young boy with a deep understanding of technology and an even deeper resentment of the Atlas establishment. New lessons joined the ones about grimm biology, and Watts learned the right wires to cut instead of bones, how to read the flow of code instead of follow a beowolf's tracks. He learned. He excelled, and he used those newfound skills to occasionally help his mentor and much more often to satiate his own curiosity about the secrets that kept their city coasting in the air above mantle

Until the day he turned over the wrong rock. Or was it the right one? His swiftness in accepting the existence of magic wasn't entirely unrelated for certain, but all that he knew at the time was that his mentor suddenly left him out in the cold and in Ironwood's crosshairs. A shot the general didn't hesitate to take, and one that would've left a less determined boy cut off from every avenue to his dream of being a hunter. He got out from under his mentor's thumb, found new friends and purpose, and that should have been the end of that.

Clearly, Dr. Merlot had other plans and potentially allegiances Arthur would have never guessed at, and as fast as Arthur was working, he doubted it was going to be fast enough to completely cut his old mentor off from where they were. And it didn't help-

"Shut up."

-that everyone just would not-

"Shut up!"

-STOP TALKING.

His brain wasn't even entirely focused on the quarantining and elimination of the various little viruses. as fast as he was working; there were enough that something was going to slip through. Were they just screwed then? If Merlot was working with Ozpin's lackey's, how likely was it that a schnee corp cruise missile was going to just annihilate this train before they even got to the next station? The data was going to get through. Did it have to be the right data?

He swiftly focused his efforts on clearing his search functions, a few beads of sweat dripping down his forehead despite his only motion coming from his fingers. If Lionheart was a traitor the enemy already knew their destination, so anything going the wrong direction would be picked apart as wrong. No other rail lines were making the trip there at the same time; he'd learned that earlier. This was an important mission; it wouldn't be unreasonable that Salem would give them proper transport for it, and Ozpin obviously hadn't known where the maiden was if the only thing defending her was that pack of drunkards and she was still alive, so the exact trajectory could be questioned. What could make the trip directly from Vale to Mistral?

There was only one answer, and a thousand feet up and two miles to the west, the onboard computer of a cargo airship making a routine trip suddenly flickered with an excess of data. Code was dumped, connections were forced, and a copilot was suddenly very confused as to why his scroll had suddenly locked him out. He tried to put in his password with a frown

'Incorrect login for user Arthur Watts'

Back on the train, Arthur let his head thump against the desk with a deep, shaky sigh. He could take his time torching the rest of the viruses; as far as his geographic data was going to be concerned for the next few hours, he was already zooming well past the train on a direct flight to Haven. Hopefully he'd done his work fast enough, and hopefully he hadn't just painted too big a target on someone else.

The intricacies of the technical world known to Hazel was skin-deep, any deeper was beyond his ken and he was squarely comfortable with the reality of it. The navigation of the standard issue scroll was a trivial task and it was not any more difficult in helping your grandparents navigate the spans of the CCT with a simple search or even setting up an account for communicatory purposes. He'd even go so far as to admit needing assistance, like inquiring, no doubt to Watts' chagrin, as to how the heck specifying those search parameters worked when you denominated them within the search engine; he recognized their potential but he lacked the true understanding of what it all entailed, none of the fundamentals known to him completely beyond bits and pieces from cursory usage and his team leader's mutterings. It was an intriguing field by all rights but any interest was in passing, as his talents lied elsewhere and he was more than content in knowing there was another far more than capable of managing that side when the need arose. To one, it was ones and zeros, to another it was a string of nonsense.

He'd keep to the simpler things in life, like husbandry and agriculture, meaningful social interaction and nurturing relationships (in spite of his roleplayer's languid nonsense), hunting Grimm and excising evil, and so on. It was the second that came into play, offering itself to Hazel's sensitivities and ability to glean from a person's emotional state, the little nuances of their mood and the inflection of their words. It very much helped that this person in particular was akin to a canvas he could recognize and understand some, owing to their time together as a team. He very much rarely saw Arthur as this upset, if the word even so much as encapsulated Arthur adequately, recognizing it to be a serious matter at the very least, ranging between an unprecedented situation for the man to possible catastrophe the likes of what nearly struck Beacon.

A slow draw of the breath as he swallowed the last of the sausagey affair that comprised his pizza, his words followed the tail end of Raven's in an imploring inquiry. "Talk to us, Arthur. What's happened?"

 

[Gus Gungus]

The maiden herself didn't exactly disagree with that statement, her frown deepening as she stood there. "...not for finding some mystery in the woods, anyway." Vernal replied. The magic definitely lent itself more to combat than scouring through the woods looking for...whatever it had been. She stood there with crossed arms, hardly seeming to notice the wind or the cold despite being sleeveless. "Stayin' for what?" ​

She was silent for a moment as if she didn't know how to rationalize it to another person, more a creature of instinct than words. "For when it comes back."​