Fandom Distorted Mirror [IC]

[MyrtenRose]

Yang definitely would've had a lot of words for her uncle's sadder, drunker clone and even more for dear old Auntie Vernal if she'd had her way, but her doppleganger clearly had other plans. Before she could even react to two of their members going down, her forearms had to fly up in a crossguard on sheer instinct, and she landed well behind the rest of the combat with a grunt of exertion as she hit the ground with a roll that ended with her backsliding a few more meters on her feet.

Her stance was already set by the time she stopped moving, and her determined glare briefly quirked up into a smirk. "So! You're the other me I keep hearing about. Gotta admit, I'm kinda disappointed I'm to be the only one from my team who didn't get a cool new look to replace my conscience" she drawled.

She didn't move to advance or strike, though her guard was clearly up as her fists hovered near her chest and her weight shifted from foot to foot.

"Not as disappointed as I am to know some other version of myself is braindead enough to go against Ozpin." She snapped back in a harsh growl. Her eyes shifted from the other's face, ever so briefly. "And weak enough to lose an arm." Yang settled into her own combat-ready stance, but she didn't press forward either, slightly narrowed eyes scrutinizing her counterpart from head to toe and seemingly fine with waiting for the other to strike first.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

The sight of his not-sibling so shamefaced and contrite stopped him in his tracks for continuing on whatever tirade he'd been about to dive into, not at all intended to be an actual stern reprimand meant to teach Raven humility or anything. When she actually apologized, he immediately walked it back. "Right, forgot you don't have a sense of humor... I'm just yanking your chain, c'mon. I get captured all the time. It's actually kinda funny, the two of us winding up like this. Ha. Hahahahahaha!"

A raucous, near-delirious bout of laughter followed, Raven getting a prompt reminder that she had been captured alongside probably the one person in all of Remnant who could see the deranged humor in such a predicament. "This reminds me of the kinda crap we'd get into when we were in team STRQ! Hahahaha! I missed this!"

Yeah, being a solo huntsman was killer and all, but Qrow was kind of a manchild at heart and those days when it was the four of them were something else. Then he remembered his weapon getting totaled, and he fell into a somber silence. "Oh yeah."

Hopefully Raven got the message to lighten up, anyway. Besides, if there was any blame to be passed around in the situation it belonged to him. He shifted gears back to the matter at hand, since obviously things were bad and they had to escape and regroup with the others right frickin' now. Once Emerald had released them, he wasted no time in heading out of the room and down the hall, checking around corners for anyone not on their side as he made back for the main foyer.​

...That was, strangely enough, sufficient to get her to look up at Qrow. In utter confusion.

Had he lost his mind?? There was absolutely nothing funny about this situation, not even in the slightest. But if nothing else, that out of nowhere display of amusement got her to quit dwelling on what could have been. "Oh yeah what?" She questioned with a raised eyebrow when the laughing fit came to an abrupt end, following after Qrow when she too was freed.​

 

[Indolent]

Qrow had already roused to a blurred state of consciousness some time ago, not one to stay out for more than a few minutes unless you literally put him in a coma. His first reaction was natural, considering who he found himself sharing his plight with. "I TOOK ON ALL THOSE GUYS TO COVER YOUR ESCAPE AND YOU LET YOUR ASS GET CAUGHT?!"

"Ungh, you aren't even siblings here right?" Emerald deadpanned, eyes slitting nigh shut as if it accentuated the sheer annoyance that wafted towards their interaction as she knelt before them. She totally could tell this Raven was completely different, the air to her, her demeanor, was similar to the Raven she recalled but there was a stark contrast between her and this one here. The bandit queen had a forlorn sense to her that if you took the time to read her like a book, you'd get it stemmed from her lack of faith, her unwillingness to step to the fore against the darkness. Her despair or more accurately, her fear. For all their similarities, that was where this world's Raven had gone right.

Emerald could only guess what other mistakes she must've made in this world here because that seemed to be the forte of the Branwen twins wherever they went.

The next few minutes had passed in a sullen, though thoughtful, silence. Okay. He'd found himself in these types of situations with people a lot more intimidating than these dorky murder activists. He was pondering a way to get a guard's attention when he heard a strangled yelp from outside, one that cut off fast as the guard slumped to the floor in rapid succession after seeing lord knows what. He kept his eyes closed and only cracked one when he felt the nudge in his ribs, blinking up at Emerald blearily as he momentarily tried to reconcile her with the less evil (if just as salty) one, only for the truth to dawn.

"So. You wound up here too."

"Wow, you have a knack for the obvious. I can see it... you're the Watson to her Sherlock?"

His tone was suspicious, bordering on hostile as he eyed her up with a skeptical frown. Her allegiances back in the potentially least messed up timeline meant he was hardly happy to see her, convenient as it might've been.

"You gonna untie us, or what?" :|

"Twas the plan, birdboy. I don't have a dog in this fight... well, actually that's a lie. I kinda sorta do but that's it, all you need to know. Like it or not, you and your dweeb brigade are my best chance for getting home. And you definitely can use my help. Or another of me, at least." She returned nonchalantly, lips pursing as if she were having second thoughts

Were it not for Qrow being able to see her, it would have been easy to take the complete silence as Raven still being out of it. But she was very much conscious and unable to bring herself to look at him. Part of it was out of shame that she had lost to her little brother of all people. Skill to skill, blow for blow they were pretty much an equal match for each other. A fight between them could have gone on for hours, back and forth with no clear winner...but that was without taking his semblance into account. Things Raven couldn't accurately predict, things that added up and up to give the edge to him and had her sliding more and more into the losing category until she had definitively lost.

A larger part was guilt, because yeah, he'd thrown himself into a situation that he was never going to win, just so she could get away...which she failed to do. If he had actually died there as he very well could have been when he was knocked out...

"......sorry." She muttered quietly and shamefully in contrast to his loud shout, still unable to look either him or their unexpected rescuer in the face.

The sight of his not-sibling so shamefaced and contrite stopped him in his tracks for continuing on whatever tirade he'd been about to dive into, not at all intended to be an actual stern reprimand meant to teach Raven humility or anything. When she actually apologized, he immediately walked it back. "Right, forgot you don't have a sense of humor... I'm just yanking your chain, c'mon. I get captured all the time. It's actually kinda funny, the two of us winding up like this. Ha. Hahahahahaha!"

A raucous, near-delirious bout of laughter followed, Raven getting a prompt reminder that she had been captured alongside probably the one person in all of Remnant who could see the deranged humor in such a predicament. "This reminds me of the kinda crap we'd get into when we were in team STRQ! Hahahaha! I missed this!"

Yeah, being a solo huntsman was killer and all, but Qrow was kind of a manchild at heart and those days when it was the four of them were something else. Then he remembered his weapon getting totaled, and he fell into a somber silence. "Oh yeah."

Hopefully Raven got the message to lighten up, anyway. Besides, if there was any blame to be passed around in the situation it belonged to him. He shifted gears back to the matter at hand, since obviously things were bad and they had to escape and regroup with the others right frickin' now. Once Emerald had released them, he wasted no time in heading out of the room and down the hall, checking around corners for anyone not on their side as he made back for the main foyer.

"I'm already regretting this "

Emerald swiftly undid their binds and stepped aside, her hands on the kamas that rested against her hips with her eyes narrowed in suspicion of what Qrow, and by extension Raven, might do. When it looked like they would do nothing towards her for now, she fell behind, letting them take the lead. It was easier this way anyway, she was better at covering their backs... and if things got dicey, she could always turn it into a swift getaway.

But she was generous enough to provide what info she had on hand, gleaned on the way in. In summary, it was a mess worse than they might have realized. Or maybe they did.

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"Not as disappointed as I am to know some other version of myself is braindead enough to go against Ozpin." She snapped back in a harsh growl. Her eyes shifted from the other's face, ever so briefly. "And weak enough to lose an arm." Yang settled into her own combat-ready stance, but she didn't press forward either, slightly narrowed eyes scrutinizing her counterpart from head to toe and seemingly fine with waiting for the other to strike first.​

"I traded it for a sense of humor" She shot back with a dull smirk. Her eyes narrowed for a moment, before a far too casual laugh snuck out of her as she let her weight rest on her heels and planted one hand on her waist while the other flapped in front of her, wholly out of place as the world exploded into fire behind her doppleganger.

"No no no wait, see, you've got it backwards. Don't you guys do team meetings for this stuff? in my world Salem's the bad guy, so if you're gonna call me braindead, at least label the right monster. Also," She continued, her eyes seeming to close as she counted off on her fingers. "I actually have friends, and our mom is the family disappointment, Instead of, y'know, you. This is basic stuff, keep up hun. Take notes if you have to"

 

[MyrtenRose]

"I traded it for a sense of humor" She shot back with a dull smirk. Her eyes narrowed for a moment, before a far too casual laugh snuck out of her as she let her weight rest on her heels and planted one hand on her waist while the other flapped in front of her, wholly out of place as the world exploded into fire behind her doppleganger.

"No no no wait, see, you've got it backwards. Don't you guys do team meetings for this stuff? in my world Salem's the bad guy, so if you're gonna call me braindead, at least label the right monster. Also," She continued, her eyes seeming to close as she counted off on her fingers. "I actually have friends, and our mom is the family disappointment, Instead of, y'know, you. This is basic stuff, keep up hun. Take notes if you have to"

"You should trade it back then." Not even a minute into this conversation and she was already confident that her other self was not by any means funny. "Oh, whoa whoa. You have friends. Wooooooooooooooow. I am truly defeated by that." She scoffed. "I, on the other hand, don't need any weak, pathetic people to hold me up. I don't need friends. I stand on my own. I'm strong enough by myself. Got both arms to prove it. Friends, family...those are just unnecessary weaknesses that hold you back, and you're too foolish to even realize it." Yang shook her head. "It's honestly pitiful."
​

 

[Indolent]

...and then back down into a controlled dive that had her soaring through the air to meet that charge head-on, all the power of a maiden slamming into the mountain sized kid souped up by the dust he'd jammed into his forearms.

KRAKOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

The loud sound of that collision alone was enough to deafen many a pair of ears, the resulting shockwave likewise alone absolutely sent anyone too close flying a great deal back. When the dust thrown up from that collision finally cleared enough to make out what had happened...those that looked saw Vernal hovering several feet above the giant form of Hazel laying sprawled out on the ground, albeit still conscious. But before she could do anything more to the big dude, the sudden lunge through the air by yet another combatant forced her to abandon any such plans for Hazel, the spring maiden leaning to the side to let the piercing attempted stab from the crocodile faunus sail right past her. By the time Tock hit the ground on the other side and turned back on her heel in an instant for another pass, a fireball slammed into her stomach and pushed her back before she could.

The flames under Vernal's boots swelled up and she rose higher into the sky to get a better view on the numerous opponents that were coming after her.

There wasn't an iota of rationality present within the raging facade of Hazel's, else he may have paused at the very idea of playing chicken with a Maiden. And it was a game he squarely lost, the very concept a reverberating presence in his mind alongside the unrelenting furor, the former fueling the latter as he absolutely seethed from the crater of their impact. He hated the fact he didn't even so much as gain an inch in the fight against the renegade Maiden herself, loathed the very idea he might not even contribute towards getting justice for at least one person this day. And for all the good his semblance did, he knew he was injured in some shape or form, his body unresponsive to his commands momentarily. His aura had shattered, a very telling sign of the difference between himself and her and it was also why he wasn't so quick to get back to his feet.

But he knew he would sooner than later, an aspect that he always appreciated about himself even while lost to his anger. His aura oft times, fueled by his obscene willpower when he brought it to bear, regenerated at an absurd rate that often superseded any damage he received from his enemies and in the very rare instance it did fail him... it would simply return as it did for all other living creatures, only the more faster for him. It was a matter of biding his time and that was the only catch he abhorred having to accept. It was a tactical misstep he'd realize later for several reasons, one prominently being that he left himself exposed to the predations of any other foe on the battlefield that was looking for vulnerabilities in their enemies' ranks, an opportunity to weaken them as a whole.

This very thing transpired, Hazel's eyes of swirling yellow-orange snapping to a Shadow Fang roving about whose posture markedly changed, as if a hunter alighted his eyes upon favorable prey. His large size belied his speed, his pace quickening as he surged through the fighting, and it was before long Hazel scrutinized the features in the faunus, keratin scales that rimmed portions of his flesh proportionally all over. The pangolin faunus's eyes were emotionless, his movement equally devoid of the same, as he loomed over the prone Hazel with these words that followed, "I only do what must be done. I'll make it quick." His right raised with his fingers aligned straight, at the ready to stab downward for the throat to the spinal portion of the neck as an uncharacteristic mercy kill. A swift means to ensure his removal before his aura regenerated. Hazel's response was only a fearless stare, a bloody snarl emerging from his lips.

*squeak*

"What?" Came the pangolin's confused words, Hazel becoming likewise in turn as he caught his would be slayer's eyes staring downward for the chest, only to find a bizarre sight waving towards him with its fuzzy manipulators. It turned to the faunus, standing on its hinds with its fur absolutely bristling as it hissed towards.



"... You're--"

"No more of this nonsense!" The Shadow Fang called out, his hand beginning its javelin-like descent.

Three sharp whistles punctuated the arrival of three multi colored bolts embedding themselves within the upper arm, shoulder, and chest of the faunus that simultaneously exploded in a cornucopia of primary (ryb) colors. His arm was frozen, his shoulder electrocuted, and his chest set aflame whilst the concentrated impact of the explosions embedded within his scales threw him back. The stoat stood there, completely undaunted by what just transpired as his gaze shot towards a shadow that passed overhead with a happy squeak. Two ginger footfalls were heard, with the telltale woosh of fabric flowing through the air, before the steps picked up with rapidity and a series of heavy impacts resonated off the faunus's scales interspersed with his grunts of pain. A heavy thud contacted the ground and it was clear who the victor was.

It was very much clear who it was that stood over Hazel, her scarf of mustard, brown beige, and olive patterning wrapped seemingly dozens of time around the neck that was too exceedingly long for practical use, trailing in the mountainside's gusts. The scarf rested atop a worn traveler's jack set a drab green, with brown combat leggings set with soft-hard cases clearly designated for storing her ranged implements. Her brown hair was kept short, explained by her frequent complaints of how it interfered with her aim, and her eyes were a vibrant amber that stared down with her mouth a fixed smirk that seemed a tad bit too elated given the circumstances. Or was it this circumstance in particular.

"Hello, big brother! Taking a rest, are we?" She called down to a very mirthless Hazel, who managed to find a moment's fleeting respite in his anger.

"You shouldn't be here--" "Oh, shut up. I just saved you. Brosel too, for that matter." A squeak at his name preceded his emergence from one of the many folds in the scarf, his keen eyes on a swivel as he navigated the labyrinthine vortex. "Now, up off your lazy bum. We have a fight to finish, friends to save, evil-doers to punish, etcetera etcetera." She extended the lengthy shillelagh with Hazel, begrudging the speediness of his aura for the first time in his life, accepting the help to his feet.

Another squeak and Gretchen spun on one ankle with a rising diagonal swipe of her weapon to clock an errant criminal in the chin, rendering him unconscious. "I can handle these, you do your angry thing."A cheery grin finalized that and she was gone, spinning with her weapon out into the thickest part of the fighting before Hazel could deliver his rebuke. His expression in these milliseconds that passed was very much the epitome of

Are you fucking kidding me?

His frustration interleaved into the smoldering ire he hadn't forgotten, he simply turned to resuming the accomplishment of his singular goal. Beating the crap out of a maiden. Actually, there was a second goal. Survive and yell at his idiot sister.

 

[MidwayLives]

"Don't know, don't care." Whether that was true or simply a bluff to bluntly dismiss and brush off Tyrian's words like they were nothing, only Qrow could say. And he wasn't in a sharing mood.​

Tyrian's eyes only narrowed further as Qrow said that.

He wouldn't pretend to know of whatever life he'd provided the Red Masque. It was none of his business and despite the descpicable allies the Masque had chosen to join, Tyrian felt as though he couldn't have passed judgement on her. The only time that they'd met was with the Masque beaten down and screaming hysterically probably didn't help either.

One thing was for certain however, she had deserved a more caring parent than this.

"What a sad man you are..."
​

Each and every swipe was either blocked or parried with practiced ease as the bandit king kept stepping back in response to Tyrian's relentless pressing forward.

Tyrian was proud of his abilities. Fighting with adults from a young age helped mold that trait. Someday ,he got beaten to a bloody pulp who only got by due to his aura healing and getting wasted off his ass/gulping down some pain-killers. Others he felt as though he were on top of the world! Anyone could come into the bloodsoaked ring and challenge him and they'd be leaving on a stretcher!

Such beliefs and enthusiasm only got one so far. Tyrian was a born brawler, having to fight adutlts, some of whom brought illegal weapons into fights to try and 'even' the odds as it were. They still weren't anything compared to the shockingly skilled drunkard before him. Tyrian wouldn't give up, he couldn't give up! They needed to pay, HE needed to pay for givng whatever order he had to Vernal! One of the few people who had ever decided to reach out to him was laying on the floor unconscious and that pissed. Him. Off!

"RRRRAAAAAAGH!!!"
​

at least until Qrow abruptly took a bow and Tyrian's wild push forward faltered when some unlucky fool that had been tossed through the air soared over Qrow and just as unluckily slammed into Tyrian and knocked the scorpion to the ground...at which point Harbinger came down in a stab meant for one of Tyrian's arms.

One of Tyrian's swipes went wide and his eyes grew wide in growing horror. He'd went and stumbled like a newborn babe struggling to find it's footing and now this was happening! The knocked out mook slammed into Tyrian and knocked him flat on his back. Whether or not the guy was knocked out, Tyrian didn't care. Qrow and the enemies here weren't going to afford him to relax even for a second. He had to get this guy off him and now-

The glint of light off Harbinger's metal frame lingered in his eye as the blade plunged forward.

Tyrian had a decision to made.

Potentially sacrifice his left arm and try blasting Qrow before he could rip it free or...

"Damn it..." Tyrian muttered. With opponents like this, he simply couldn't contain the urges any longer. He only hoped this man or woman was knocked out. Dragging his arm in before Harbinger stabbed through his aura and by proxy his arm, Tyrian's pupils glowed ever so brightly as he pressed a palm to the chest of the grunt laying atop him and gave them a sharp push towards Qrow.

The gauntlet on his left arm slid open to reveal hidden barrels between the blades. He took aim and fired.

*BLAM BLAM BLAM*

The shots tore through the soul who had the misfortune of being tossed through the air and hopefully hit Qrow as well. Tyrian's breathing had hitched and his eyes had something of a glazed over look to them. Right now, he wasn't at Haven Academy fighting alongside his friends. He was a battle hungry boy going all out against the scumbag opponents who'd wish him nothing but harm. His entire muscular frame seemed to be twitching. His mouth twisted into a furious grimace. His urges finally had their day and were in control.

'I'm going to kill you!! KILL YOU!!!"

​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"I'm already regretting this "

Emerald swiftly undid their binds and stepped aside, her hands on the kamas that rested against her hips with her eyes narrowed in suspicion of what Qrow, and by extension Raven, might do. When it looked like they would do nothing towards her for now, she fell behind, letting them take the lead. It was easier this way anyway, she was better at covering their backs... and if things got dicey, she could always turn it into a swift getaway.

But she was generous enough to provide what info she had on hand, gleaned on the way in. In summary, it was a mess worse than they might have realized. Or maybe they did.

"Just stay where I can see you and keep pretending you're in your depth, limehead. Might need you in a couple minutes."

A bunch of disenfranchised faunus and bandits weren't anything he didn't think he could handle even without his weapon, and any guard postings Emerald hadn't dealt with felt his true feelings on the urgency of the situation as they were dropped left and right until the trio found themselves in the welcome foyer. He hadn't bothered answering Raven's question, but her answer was implicit in how he took a moment to stand over Harbinger's pulverized remains as if it were the grave of an old war buddy, hands in his pockets and features sullen as he kicked over what used to be an interlocking gear mechanism. He said nothing, but his eyes spoke volumes, wondering how anyone could be low class enough to break someone's stuff.

They roved through the wreckage momentarily for anything salvageable before he turned to the other two. The sounds of absolute destruction and chaos nearby were as keen a reminder as anything of what they had to do to start fighting back.

Qrow had a loose idea forming. It wasn't much, but they were probably looking at an uphill battle already.

"If schlubby me is here... It means this whole thing's probably a setup. Spring was never in our corner to begin with. Shoulda seen that coming, but it means the entire mission parameter's changed. We stop them getting their hands on the lamp. Whatever it takes."

He cast a glance over at Emerald before adding.

"It's our only ticket to figuring out what the hell all this is and how to undo it, so you'll wanna keep playing ball too. And before we head outside, I got a question." His expression tightened, shrewd beyond their age when they wanted to be. "How big can your illusions get?"​

 

[MyrtenRose]

A bunch of disenfranchised faunus and bandits weren't anything he didn't think he could handle even without his weapon, and any guard postings Emerald hadn't dealt with felt his true feelings on the urgency of the situation as they were dropped left and right until the trio found themselves in the welcome foyer. He hadn't bothered answering Raven's question, but her answer was implicit in how he took a moment to stand over Harbinger's pulverized remains as if it were the grave of an old war buddy, hands in his pockets and features sullen as he kicked over what used to be an interlocking gear mechanism. He said nothing, but his eyes spoke volumes, wondering how anyone could be low class enough to break someone's stuff.

They roved through the wreckage momentarily for anything salvageable before he turned to the other two. The sounds of absolute destruction and chaos nearby were as keen a reminder as anything of what they had to do to start fighting back.

"...Oh." Her voice was quiet and painfully subdued as she glanced through the remains of what had once been her brother's greatsword/scythe. Her weapon...it was designed for the blades to be breakable and easily replaceable. To swap in specialized dust for any specific situation. His...was not like that. It was meant to last. Different Qrow, but...she could distinctly remember how excited he had been when he first constructed Harbinger. How proud he was of it. A cop and his sidearm, that might be nothing more than a weapon, a tool for the job. But it is different for huntsmen and huntresses. Their weapons are a part of who they are. An extension of themselves. Without one...

Her eyes lifted up from the broken remains to read the look in his eyes. They said more than enough.

If I hadn't been caught...or if I'd gone back in with him in the first place...

She took a few steps forward to stand next to him, one hand rising to rest on his shoulder in a show of support. "I...think you should know...it was my brot--" She paused for a second. No. He wasn't that any longer. "--the other Qrow who captured me. He's probably out there right now." She jerked her head in the direction of all the noise. "It may not be up to par with a weapon that had two more extra years for tinkering but...if it means anything? I'm certain you deserve it more than he ever will." ​

 

[Gus Gungus]

Rustle

That was the most warning any near the fringes of battle got before something struck at them from the dark. A few Shadow Fang dogs who found themselves too close to the bushes and trees encircling Mistral's rustic academy were dispatched, casualties preceding the true offensive about to commence.

In the shadows, a pair of equally sinister smiles painted the hooded faces of Corsac and Fennec Albain as the pair turned to address their compatriots, hidden in the depths of the treeline.

"Reparation, my brothers."

"Glory, my sisters."

They turned and stalked through the trees, and after a moment others followed suit. It was like Beacon all over again. Faunus of all colors and creeds descended on the battlefield, clad in the white and red of the more militant White Fang as Mistral's division immediately engaged their one-time kin in the Shadow Fang, along with the filth and criminals they stood together with. The brothers were a terror a cut above the ordinary in their own right, Corsac effortlessly dodging around one hail of gunfire that kicked up the dirt at his feet as Fennec leveled an ornate wand-dagger hybrid towards the offending Shadow Fang unit. The air swirled at their feet, and from nowhere a cyclone battered and lifted the trio into the air to catapult them from the mountain unceremoniously as the skirmish started to grow in intensity.

---

Not far away, a lone figure took slow, measured steps up the stairway leading to Mistral's CCT tower, pace calm and determined. Wilt hung low from her side, drawn and at a slight angle so the tip extended to lightly tap against the railings as she made her way up, a trail of dispatched Shadow Fang footmen left in her wake starting from the bottom of the stairs.

Clang.

The noise it made was muted, but rang out and left a low hum in the air from the vibrating metals. They recurred in intervals of about three seconds, which happened to more or less coincide with every time another Shadow Fang agent was cut down, their gunfire deflected and weapons disabled all without Eve ever breaking from her monotonous pace. She seemed to care little for announcing her presence, continuing to stalk towards the entrance.

Clang.

Her scouts, some of the White Fang's best infiltrators who lay in wait around the academy had plenty of interest to report about the Shadow Fang's stake in all this, the explosives planted around the school with a high volume focused on the CCT tower. Smart. Probably what she'd do, if she still had any interest in being a terrorist.

Clang.

She was alert, but the daunting, overbearing arrogance customary of Eve Taurus added a flare to her entrance and even a bit of a sashay to her step as her slow advanced neared the top of the stairs, wondering how many clangs and how many fallen Shadow Fang there would have to be before she came out to face her.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

If I hadn't been caught...or if I'd gone back in with him in the first place...

She took a few steps forward to stand next to him, one hand rising to rest on his shoulder in a show of support. "I...think you should know...it was my brot--" She paused for a second. No. He wasn't that any longer. "--the other Qrow who captured me. He's probably out there right now." She jerked her head in the direction of all the noise. "It may not be up to par with a weapon that had two more extra years for tinkering but...if it means anything? I'm certain you deserve it more than he ever will."

Qrow didn't answer for a few seconds, nor lift his gaze. When he finally did, the wan smile and slightly raised eyebrows disguised a profound sadness with intense... smugness.

"Oh, that's what happened? Why didn'tcha just say so? I can't talk if it was the tribe's all-time greatest warrior export who kicked your ass. That's like getting mad at scissors for losing to rock."

As grim as his overall demeanor had become after that brief bout of manic revelry, he clearly relished the opportunity to say that. He was just gonna leave out how it wouldn't even have been close if he tried to fight his tool of a sister back home going all-out. His expression hardened at Raven's implication, though.

"He's probably not looking after it anyway... But it'll have to settle for third on my priority list. Maybe even fourth. The others need us."

He was just... slightly useless right now, much to his frustration. He couldn't exercise his semblance the way he had before with so many non-targets in the radius of effect. It hadn't even built up to the point of full-on calamity before, and he didn't wanna imagine what that'd look like in the middle of a full scale battle. Not that he had to.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"Oh, that's what happened? Why didn'tcha just say so? I can't talk if it was the tribe's all-time greatest warrior export who kicked your ass. That's like getting mad at scissors for losing to rock."

“I suppose you aren’t wrong there.” Raven remarked with a small, faint smile. As much as she still thought that getting beaten by that drunken, disillusioned sellout was an embarrassment, a stain on her record...if it helped cheer up this Qrow even the tiniest fraction of a bit? Well, she could swallow her pride for that and pretend that he was the tribe’s all time greatest warrior export.​

"He's probably not looking after it anyway... But it'll have to settle for third on my priority list. Maybe even fourth. The others need us."

She nodded. “Your call...big brother.” Damn, that felt weird to say.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"Damn it..." Tyrian muttered. With opponents like this, he simply couldn't contain the urges any longer. He only hoped this man or woman was knocked out. Dragging his arm in before Harbinger stabbed through his aura and by proxy his arm, Tyrian's pupils glowed ever so brightly as he pressed a palm to the chest of the grunt laying atop him and gave them a sharp push towards Qrow.

The gauntlet on his left arm slid open to reveal hidden barrels between the blades. He took aim and fired.

*BLAM BLAM BLAM*

The shots tore through the soul who had the misfortune of being tossed through the air and hopefully hit Qrow as well. Tyrian's breathing had hitched and his eyes had something of a glazed over look to them. Right now, he wasn't at Haven Academy fighting alongside his friends. He was a battle hungry boy going all out against the scumbag opponents who'd wish him nothing but harm. His entire muscular frame seemed to be twitching. His mouth twisted into a furious grimace. His urges finally had their day and were in control.

"..." That level of brutality was not one he had expected to come out of some fresh-faced Beacon student who hadn't even graduated. So unexpected in fact that he didn't make any moves to dodge or block those shots, the rounds pinging off his aura and bringing it down by a couple bite-sized chunks. Qrow actually laughed in response. "Shooting through some poor guy to get to me? Color me impressed by your cold pragmatism, kid. You sure you're on the right side of all this? I can see someone with that kind of moxie making it far in my crew. You could do real well for yourself."

​

'I'm going to kill you!! KILL YOU!!!"

"Never heard that one before." He commented, voice thick with mocking sarcasm.

 

[MyrtenRose]

By this point, much as she hated to admit it, Nora had lost track of Ruby. The huntress was fast. Too fast. Nora wasn't sure even the Masque was as fast as her counterpart. And someone that swift, in all this crazy chaos and violent fighting? It was ridiculously difficult to keep eyes on her in the middle of all of it. Maidens, huntsmen, Shadow Fang, criminals of all stripes and now even the White Fang too! Haven academy had become a warzone in every sense of the word. She wasn't sure how long until all this madness brought the authorities of Mistral as well, the cops and academy staff and all their students too maybe. However long it was before they came, it wasn't time she could spend wasting trying to chase down a red blur.​

No, that wasn't right. There was a reason. Watching as Roman collected himself and ran off, firing shots from Melodic Cudgel at Ren.

With that in mind, she had circled back and slammed a few White Fang skyward as she charged in Ren's direction where he was trading fire with Torchwick. Another one who hadn't quite gotten the message sprinted up, thinking he could handle Valkyrie. The idiot earned a backhand for his trouble, sending him crashing into another small group and knocking them all down like a bunch of bowling pins. With that opening and a click on her warhammer, Nora propelled herself through the air and rapidly closed the distance, Magnhild soon swung down to smash that bowler hat wearing moron into the ground so hard that it made a small crater.​

 

[Indolent]

"Just stay where I can see you and keep pretending you're in your depth, limehead. Might need you in a couple minutes."

She might have said more than done that, something injurious to the man's ego where his weapon was concerned but even she had paused when she caught that solo skirmish. When a solitary bird managed to make absolute buffoons out of even older, hopefully more wizened iterations of the kids from back home only for his weapon to be cruelly destroyed. After all, as radically different from a huntsman as she was, at least in her mind, Emerald would have lied if she said she didn't have feelings on the matter where her beloved Respite was concerned. But if you were to press her on the subject, she would have dodged the truth in favor of perjuring herself without end.

"If schlubby me is here... It means this whole thing's probably a setup. Spring was never in our corner to begin with. Shoulda seen that coming, but it means the entire mission parameter's changed. We stop them getting their hands on the lamp. Whatever it takes."

He cast a glance over at Emerald before adding.

"It's our only ticket to figuring out what the hell all this is and how to undo it, so you'll wanna keep playing ball too. And before we head outside, I got a question." His expression tightened, shrewd beyond their age when they wanted to be. "How big can your illusions get?"

"Figures. Besides, only court I want my ball in is any that isn't Ozpin's..." There was actually a minute discomfort in admitting that much, skipping a beat before she settled on the question with a pensive expression. Maybe she didn't want to reference their last encounter so soon but it was a point of reference that helped conceptualize it all. "Not much bigger than the one I threw your way at Haven-- here. Whatever. Several times bigger, I'll probably go into a coma. That one knocked me out and it was only like ten of you at the time."

She stepped forward, wheeling around to study his face for a moment in guesstimation of whatever idea he might have had.

"... I was going to steal the key to the elevator from Puss'n'boots next." She chimed in helpfully.

"--the other Qrow who captured me. He's probably out there right now." She jerked her head in the direction of all the noise. "It may not be up to par with a weapon that had two more extra years for tinkering but...if it means anything? I'm certain you deserve it more than he ever will."

"He's probably not looking after it anyway... But it'll have to settle for third on my priority list. Maybe even fourth. The others need us."

Hmmmmm.

 

[Gus Gungus]

one day of team drama that hadn't quite been resolved wasn't much when put against the scale of a year's worth of training together, especially in a fight. Neo's illusion shattered when Vernal struck it, Mercury's kick sending her straight into Neo's opened parasol to catch her straight on her back, with the blade extended on the top to catch her and tear through her aura. Mercury's legs carried enough force that even with Neo bracing herself she slid a few feet backwards as her teammate landed and leaped back into the air in a falling axe kick to smash her even harder into the blade-

Only to shatter, a false version of her leader set up to mask whatever his true intentions were. They were two of Beacon's best technical fighters, top of their class, but that might not have been enough against a maiden in a fair fight.

MTEN wasn't ever really about fighting fair though, even with their most dangerous weapon lying on the ground.

...and then back down into a controlled dive that had her soaring through the air to meet that charge head-on, all the power of a maiden slamming into the mountain sized kid souped up by the dust he'd jammed into his forearms.

KRAKOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

The loud sound of that collision alone was enough to deafen many a pair of ears, the resulting shockwave likewise alone absolutely sent anyone too close flying a great deal back. When the dust thrown up from that collision finally cleared enough to make out what had happened...those that looked saw Vernal hovering several feet above the giant form of Hazel laying sprawled out on the ground, albeit still conscious. But before she could do anything more to the big dude, the sudden lunge through the air by yet another combatant forced her to abandon any such plans for Hazel, the spring maiden leaning to the side to let the piercing attempted stab from the crocodile faunus sail right past her. By the time Tock hit the ground on the other side and turned back on her heel in an instant for another pass, a fireball slammed into her stomach and pushed her back before she could.

The flames under Vernal's boots swelled up and she rose higher into the sky to get a better view on the numerous opponents that were coming after her.

Mercury's version of rage was different from the berserker rampages of old flavor Yang, the predatory aggression of Eve or the frenzied thrill of combat pumping through Tyrian's veins. It was just as consuming, but the ways it affected his combat style were more methodical; he became a surgeon, one keenly aware of every joint, nerve cluster and airway's location. One that knew exactly where to hit to make it hurt. His blood was boiling and his heart was pounding, yes, but all that only made him more focused, more attuned to the little things about the way Vernal moved. The gaps between offensives. The breath before a counterattack.

He expected a retaliation of some kind the moment Vernal got a second to breathe, and Neo and him already had contingencies for when the two of them got up in someone's grill like this. A 2v1 formation meant whoever they were fighting was probably way more powerful than them, and with that kind of power usually came ways of clearing oneself some room. AOE explosions weren't exactly a maiden exclusive maneuver for anyone with the lien to buy dust.

So when the bandit detonated, Mercury had anticipated the timing behind it and pushed off from the illusion-shielded kick to twist in front of where Neo actually was, both mechanical legs tucked in front with his body angled behind them so they took the brunt of the explosion rather than either of their auras taking a potentially significant hit this early on.

After all, they still owed somebody a lot of pain.

He gave Neo a nod, ejecting the spent fire dust cartridges from his heels and digging around his tracksuit pocket for something new. Never taking his eyes off Vernal, he produced a pair of cyan-colored clips and inserted them into each leg with two pinpoint-accurate kicks, like a kata to psyche himself up. Then he took a confident, determined step for Vernal... however many feet she was above the battlefield. As in literally took a step off the ground.

"HEY!" He roared through gritted teeth as he took another, then another, then broke into a sprint like he was running up some stairs, appearing to be walking on thin air. "Thinking the biggest guy makes for the biggest threat? Talk about AMATEUR HOUR!"

The miniature squares of hardlight energy springing from each heel with every step he took told the more logical story, each one acting like a platform he could step off as he came after the treacherous maiden once again, closing the last of the distance with a dual-heel gunshot that propelled him for her like a bullet to kick her in the face once more.

Except that bullet shattered like glass the moment it came into contact with anything, at the same time Mercury launched the exact maneuver from behind, aiming to slam his heel into the back of Vernal's head with a hardlight-enhanced gunshot and swinging Neo up over his shoulders to deliver a followup of her own from where he'd told her to hold on, linking hands so she didn't fall in the aftermath.​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"You should trade it back then." Not even a minute into this conversation and she was already confident that her other self was not by any means funny. "Oh, whoa whoa. You have friends. Wooooooooooooooow. I am truly defeated by that." She scoffed. "I, on the other hand, don't need any weak, pathetic people to hold me up. I don't need friends. I stand on my own. I'm strong enough by myself. Got both arms to prove it. Friends, family...those are just unnecessary weaknesses that hold you back, and you're too foolish to even realize it." Yang shook her head. "It's honestly pitiful."
​

She snorted, her mouth set into a flat line as she planted both fists on her hip and cocked her head at her worse half.

"Uhhhh huuuuuh... you do realize that you just called me pathetic in the same sentence that you said 'I have no friends' in. Right? She definitely said that, right?"

The Shadow Fang member who'd been silently stalking up to the seemingly oblivious blonde with a vicious looking ballistic war spear froze, weapon just short of being pulled back all the way for a strike.

"..."

"Like, what, do you even have birthdays? Who you gonna invite, this guy?" She asked, shooting a thumb back towards him with a glance "Hey bud, you going to her birthday party?"

"...I..."

"See? Not even he wants to be friends with you." She shook her head and put one hand up to scratch the side of her ear. "You sure you don't wanna fight someone else? I've got looks, friends, family who doesn't hate me, a way cooler arm, an actual reason to hate my mom, a hit with the ladies, like. If you fight me and lose, you're losing your one claim to fame in the Hall of Yangs." she shook her head again with a grimace and extended her hand in front of her in a disarming wave, her words coated in a patronizing tone. "Honestly, its ok. I'll just do you a favor and back off. Save you the embarrassment, and give me someone actually worth putting down. Like-"

the gauntlet on the extended hand suddenly went off, a bullet whizzing straight for her double's head at the same time the momentum shot Yang backwards. Her ballistics induced dash slid her past the spear in a way that made it obviously calculated. Her elbow slammed into his neck with enough force to send him flipping head over heels as her other arm snatched the spear by the haft, spun it so she could grip it with both in time to twist the bottom of it in time to catch the poor faunus' head near the bottom of the floor, then set her feet to hurl it like a javelin at what she could only assume was an oncoming freight train of Yang shaped anger.

 

[MyrtenRose]

She snorted, her mouth set into a flat line as she planted both fists on her hip and cocked her head at her worse half.

"Uhhhh huuuuuh... you do realize that you just called me pathetic in the same sentence that you said 'I have no friends' in. Right? She definitely said that, right?"

"Hmph." Her arms crossed, glaring at her counterpart with a sneer. "Oh, my bad. I should've dumbed it down further, used smaller words so you could understand what I'm saying without asking someone else for help. I underestimated your stupidity, that's on me. Won't make that mistake again."​

"See? Not even he wants to be friends with you." She shook her head and put one hand up to scratch the side of her ear. "You sure you don't wanna fight someone else? I've got looks, friends, family who doesn't hate me, a way cooler arm, an actual reason to hate my mom, a hit with the ladies, like. If you fight me and lose, you're losing your one claim to fame in the Hall of Yangs." she shook her head again with a grimace and extended her hand in front of her in a disarming wave, her words coated in a patronizing tone.

"I don't care. I don't care who wants or doesn't want to be a friend. I don't care about your vanity, about whoever is foolish enough to be your friend or still consider you family, I don't care about any of it. Cling to them if you want, it doesn't matter. You won't be able to appreciate any of it for that much longer. Not after I'm through doing what needs to be done for the true master of this world." ​

the gauntlet on the extended hand suddenly went off, a bullet whizzing straight for her double's head at the same time the momentum shot Yang backwards. Her ballistics induced dash slid her past the spear in a way that made it obviously calculated. Her elbow slammed into his neck with enough force to send him flipping head over heels as her other arm snatched the spear by the haft, spun it so she could grip it with both in time to twist the bottom of it in time to catch the poor faunus' head near the bottom of the floor, then set her feet to hurl it like a javelin at what she could only assume was an oncoming freight train of Yang shaped anger.

It wasn't.

The shot to the face had been almost casually blocked, the bullet bouncing off the gauntlet that had instantly snapped up to cover her face. It had lowered back to her side by the time her counterpart was through with that faunus. The spear sailed through the air and went right past the other Yang who had just leaned to the side enough for the weapon to narrowly miss her shoulder as it flew by. She had barely moved from where she stood and a smug smirk lit up that familiar face. "Is that your best? I'm not impressed." Yang commented, one hand rising up to mime a yawn.

"Maybe if you practiced combat half as much as you practice running your mouth or wasting time on things that don't matter...maybe I'd actually be impressed. Slightly. Tiny bit." She brought her hand up, index finger and thumb held barely a centimeter apart. "This much."​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

...and then back down into a controlled dive that had her soaring through the air to meet that charge head-on, all the power of a maiden slamming into the mountain sized kid souped up by the dust he'd jammed into his forearms.

KRAKOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

The loud sound of that collision alone was enough to deafen many a pair of ears, the resulting shockwave likewise alone absolutely sent anyone too close flying a great deal back. When the dust thrown up from that collision finally cleared enough to make out what had happened...those that looked saw Vernal hovering several feet above the giant form of Hazel laying sprawled out on the ground, albeit still conscious. But before she could do anything more to the big dude, the sudden lunge through the air by yet another combatant forced her to abandon any such plans for Hazel, the spring maiden leaning to the side to let the piercing attempted stab from the crocodile faunus sail right past her. By the time Tock hit the ground on the other side and turned back on her heel in an instant for another pass, a fireball slammed into her stomach and pushed her back before she could.

The flames under Vernal's boots swelled up and she rose higher into the sky to get a better view on the numerous opponents that were coming after her.

Mercury's version of rage was different from the berserker rampages of old flavor Yang, the predatory aggression of Eve or the frenzied thrill of combat pumping through Tyrian's veins. It was just as consuming, but the ways it affected his combat style were more methodical; he became a surgeon, one keenly aware of every joint, nerve cluster and airway's location. One that knew exactly where to hit to make it hurt. His blood was boiling and his heart was pounding, yes, but all that only made him more focused, more attuned to the little things about the way Vernal moved. The gaps between offensives. The breath before a counterattack.

He expected a retaliation of some kind the moment Vernal got a second to breathe, and Neo and him already had contingencies for when the two of them got up in someone's grill like this. A 2v1 formation meant whoever they were fighting was probably way more powerful than them, and with that kind of power usually came ways of clearing oneself some room. AOE explosions weren't exactly a maiden exclusive maneuver for anyone with the lien to buy dust.

So when the bandit detonated, Mercury had anticipated the timing behind it and pushed off from the illusion-shielded kick to twist in front of where Neo actually was, both mechanical legs tucked in front with his body angled behind them so they took the brunt of the explosion rather than either of their auras taking a potentially significant hit this early on.

After all, they still owed somebody a lot of pain.

He gave Neo a nod, ejecting the spent fire dust cartridges from his heels and digging around his tracksuit pocket for something new. Never taking his eyes off Vernal, he produced a pair of cyan-colored clips and inserted them into each leg with two pinpoint-accurate kicks, like a kata to psyche himself up. Then he took a confident, determined step for Vernal... however many feet she was above the battlefield. As in literally took a step off the ground.

"HEY!" He roared through gritted teeth as he took another, then another, then broke into a sprint like he was running up some stairs, appearing to be walking on thin air. "Thinking the biggest guy makes for the biggest threat? Talk about AMATEUR HOUR!"​

Neo crouched to her smallest size and kept her parasol up as Mercury went to shield them, retracting its blade so that he had a flat surface to brace against instead of being sent flying by the blaze. She gently heaved him back upright when the flames stopped and spun Hush to rest on her shoulder as it snapped closed, glaring up at Vernal with a look fury that bordered on familiar to the other Neo if she was still watching.

Which, unlike it apparently was for most people in this massive brawl, wasn't a positive.

She took a deep breath as Mercury reloaded, doing her best to center herself and settle any further breathing into a calmer rhythm once more. She had too many things to think about in a fight, and as good as she was she hadn't been molded and beaten into a weapon like a forged sword the way Mercury had. Contrary to how effortless she made it look, using Overactive Imagination effectively was hard work; every move had to look natural, every piece of the illusion had to look right. She'd always been able to copies of herself on an instinctual level, but doing what she did with other people took a lot of practice, and more importantly, focus.

Luckily, one of her many specialties was bottling up her emotions; Her hands may have been shivering slightly in rage, but the Neo who returned Merc's nod with a slight smirk didn't show an iota of it as she spun Hush in a circle around her that seemed to erase her from existence before she placed a hand on Mercury's back and replaced him with a copy of himself.

The miniature squares of hardlight energy springing from each heel with every step he took told the more logical story, each one acting like a platform he could step off as he came after the treacherous maiden once again, closing the last of the distance with a dual-heel gunshot that propelled him for her like a bullet to kick her in the face once more.

Except that bullet shattered like glass the moment it came into contact with anything, at the same time Mercury launched the exact maneuver from behind, aiming to slam his heel into the back of Vernal's head with a hardlight-enhanced gunshot and swinging Neo up over his shoulders to deliver a followup of her own from where he'd told her to hold on, linking hands so she didn't fall in the aftermath.

Neo used the momentum of the swing to arc all the way over Mercury and swing her boot down to catch Vernal in the front of the head as it as still craning forward from Mercury's strike, and she let go of her teammate's grip at an angle so that she was swung upwards like a trapeeze artist. Hush whipped out mid flip in a reverse grip to hook on the lapel of Vernals jacket and yank her upwards towards a two foot stomp against her chest that she then pushed off like a springboard, straight back to her teammate-

-who she crashed into in a completely ungraceful collision that sent them both sprawled into the air in a tangle. in her defense, there were a lot of things she was keeping track of up here, and they were wide open for the maiden to unleash the elements on them-

-They shattered if Vernal did, and more importantly, a blast like that would ignite the round Neo had palmed in her hand and coated in illusion before tossing it in the air right next to Vernal. It was one of the flame dust rounds from her new weapon, an incredibly concentrated amount, and Neo and Mercury would be revealed in the ensuing explosion as it shattered the illusion covering them with Hush opened to protect them both. Albeit sending them rocketing back towards the ground. A direct hit would've vaporized a nevermore, so she figured an indirect detonation would be the safest bet she had of not killing the maiden, super powers be damned

 

[MidwayLives]

"..." That level of brutality was not one he had expected to come out of some fresh-faced Beacon student who hadn't even graduated. So unexpected in fact that he didn't make any moves to dodge or block those shots, the rounds pinging off his aura and bringing it down by a couple bite-sized chunks. Qrow actually laughed in response. "Shooting through some poor guy to get to me? Color me impressed by your cold pragmatism, kid. You sure you're on the right side of all this? I can see someone with that kind of moxie making it far in my crew. You could do real well for yourself."

Watching as the bullet ravaged body fell to the ground, Tyrian spared it a brief glance. It'd been a member of the Shadow Fang, a fellow faunus.

The one thing his parents had always feared would happen if he stayed in the fighting club: Killing another one of his own kind. It'd finally transgressed past the point of being a mere fear into cold reality. The sight disgusted him but with his mind in the current state that it was, he could offer little sympathy. It'd either been his arm or this grunt's life and Tyrian wasn't going to get anywhere close to victory if he was down an arm. For as long as he could remember, the sensation of hurting people, of actually killing them had been with him ever since he got a taste for blood during his fights. Some faunus brought in illegal weapons, others tried to attack/kill him after losing their matches. He always refused to retailate and for one simple reason: His parents would be so disappointed if they found out.

Their precious little Tyrian had killed somebody??? Say it isn't so! It must have been a horrific lie!

Well, there was no denying the blood pooling around the faunus he'd just shot. Tyrian hadn't long to wonder if they were passed out after they'd landed on him. But they'd be sleeping now, for a very very long time.

Listening to Qrow's offer, Tyrian cracked a small smile and gestured to the two main scars on his chest.

"Never really told anybody about this before, but you've got me in a real bad mood. I used to fight a lot as a kid, illegal underground stuff, y'know? I was a kid and most of the other guys were adults. I took some wins, I took some losses. But these right here...?" Tyrian tapped one of the scars with his index finger. "I gave these to myself as punishment for losing to a human. Fight was rigged but that didn't matter. A man needs to have principals or else he's got nothing....and I think mine just flew out the window...." Tyrian's tail started to unwind and he lowered himself so he was slightly hunched over with his tail coiling up, ready to sting.

'I'm sorry, old man. I'm sorry, mom, dad. I've had these feelings for a long time. This guy just gave me the push I needed to stop surpressing them.' Tyrian thought as a last sign of regret for letting his grisly murderous urges finally take center stage. "Here's what I think of your offer, human." Tyrian spit on the ground.
​

"Never heard that one before." He commented, voice thick with mocking sarcasm.

Tyrian huffed and pounced.

His tail going in for a flurry of quick stabs before pulling back. Qrow was primarily a swordsfighter and if Tyrian had the right idea, the bandits weren't gonna play nice. Vernal attacking two of their most skilled/powerful fighters was proof enough of that. Attempting to injure or otherwise cut off his tail was an incentive Tyrian refused to pose as a weakness for him. During his fighting years, he'd always told Ichabod that he'd refuse to use his stinger, no matter what. Seeing his own kind suffer in horrible agony as the toxin from his tail coursed through them, destroying them from the inside out. It wasn't why he fought.

But like an overly friendly neighbor, the urges never stopped bugging him. They haunted him every time he fought. To just cut loose and kill his opponent, whomever it may have been. Wouldn't that have been more fun?!~

'Do it! Use your stinger! Kill them! KILL THEM!!!'

It was difficult to ignore them, even harder to keep them from those you cared about. They'd think you're a pyscho, a nutcase, a fight happy sociopath.

From losing his cool after seeing Cinder struck down and killing that Shadow Fang member, he was starting to slowly accept this. This was his true nature. Every slimy need to kill bit of it. As his tail and swipes continued to hammer away at Qrow, Tyrian knew what he wanted to do and it was his only shot of taking out this guy once and for all. Use his semblance to destroy his aura and stab him with his stinger and let the bastard suffer for what he'd done.

"Heheheheahahaahaha!"

 

[MyrtenRose]

"HEY!" He roared through gritted teeth as he took another, then another, then broke into a sprint like he was running up some stairs, appearing to be walking on thin air. "Thinking the biggest guy makes for the biggest threat? Talk about AMATEUR HOUR!"

The miniature squares of hardlight energy springing from each heel with every step he took told the more logical story, each one acting like a platform he could step off as he came after the treacherous maiden once again, closing the last of the distance with a dual-heel gunshot that propelled him for her like a bullet to kick her in the face once more.

Except that bullet shattered like glass the moment it came into contact with anything, at the same time Mercury launched the exact maneuver from behind, aiming to slam his heel into the back of Vernal's head with a hardlight-enhanced gunshot and swinging Neo up over his shoulders to deliver a followup of her own from where he'd told her to hold on, linking hands so she didn't fall in the aftermath.

While Vernal had much earlier been quick to talk back to Mercury and his partner, here and now his taunts were met only with silence. She didn't yell back or glare in anger. She didn't even send any elemental blasts as he ran up his hard-light stairway to heaven. She simply hovered there, waiting, as if curious to see what challenge he would provide. That was one thing she shared with the faunus way down below, a fond appreciation of a good challenge. Exactly why she had dived down to collide with Hazel instead of just floating higher up and rendering the big guy's charge meaningless.

When he rocketed in, she sliced out with one of her crescent shaped blades, cutting through...some weird kind of glass?? Her eyes widened in surprise, wondering what the hell that was. At least up until a kick to the back of her skull scrambled her thoughts and knocked her head forward and down...​

Neo used the momentum of the swing to arc all the way over Mercury and swing her boot down to catch Vernal in the front of the head as it as still craning forward from Mercury's strike, and she let go of her teammate's grip at an angle so that she was swung upwards like a trapeeze artist. Hush whipped out mid flip in a reverse grip to hook on the lapel of Vernals jacket and yank her upwards towards a two foot stomp against her chest that she then pushed off like a springboard, straight back to her teammate

…right into all that. A series of blows that managed to provoke anger out of her, face twisted with rage as she glared at Neo and a bolt of lightning shot down from the sudden cloud above to strike the annoying circus acrobat.​

-They shattered if Vernal did, and more importantly, a blast like that would ignite the round Neo had palmed in her hand and coated in illusion before tossing it in the air right next to Vernal. It was one of the flame dust rounds from her new weapon, an incredibly concentrated amount, and Neo and Mercury would be revealed in the ensuing explosion as it shattered the illusion covering them with Hush opened to protect them both. Albeit sending them rocketing back towards the ground. A direct hit would've vaporized a nevermore, so she figured an indirect detonation would be the safest bet she had of not killing the maiden, super powers be damned

Who wasn't actually there and which, inadvertently lit that up. Her eyes widened even wider than earlier in alarm, Vernal a sudden blur as she did her best to react before-

*BOOM*

The dust round exploded and sent the pair plummeting back to the ground far below. It was not immediately clear how Vernal had been affected by the explosion, as unlike them she had not been blasted down or back or in any direction. The thick smoke obscured the general area where the maiden had been...until it didn't, all of it swept aside in a single moment. Vernal stood right in the center of where the smoke had been, not looking that worse for wear. Something explained by the almost tornado-esque winds circling around her, a split-second maneuver that had forced every bit of the flames from that dust round to likewise swirl around her instead of actually striking her as was intended.

The Spring Maiden glared down at the pair way below. That harsh look in her eyes, the way they were glowing and especially the fire tornado whirling around her made for an incredibly intimidating sight. She finally bothered to speak, calling out all of her attackers at once.

"IS THAT ALL YOU GOT?"​

 

[MidwayLives]

With that in mind, she had circled back and slammed a few White Fang skyward as she charged in Ren's direction where he was trading fire with Torchwick. Another one who hadn't quite gotten the message sprinted up, thinking he could handle Valkyrie. The idiot earned a backhand for his trouble, sending him crashing into another small group and knocking them all down like a bunch of bowling pins. With that opening and a click on her warhammer, Nora propelled herself through the air and rapidly closed the distance, Magnhild soon swung down to smash that bowler hat wearing moron into the ground so hard that it made a small crater.

*BOOM! BOOM!*

For all of his recognized inadequacies, Roman knew that Melodic Cudgel still had a bit of a bite to it's explosions. He also realized that was the only thing keeping him on somewhat even ground with Ren. Roman knew that if the distance was closed and they ended up duking it out in hand to hand, Roman wouldn't have fared nearly as well. Using one hand to hold onto his hat to keep it from flying off, Roman couldn't help but laugh at Ren's expense. "Hey! You know what they're calling me now?? The 'Badass of Beacon!' It kind of has a nice ring to it, wouldn't you agree? Oh wait, you're the guy who got crushed by a big robot, you aren't getting any fancy titties"

Roman fired off a few shots for any Shadow Fang goons who looked like they were getting too close.

For his part, Roman had suppressed his fear. As best as he could anyhow. This was a life or death battle and if he gave up any ground for even a moment-

Looking over his shoulder at what was about to come down upon him-
​

Neo crouched to her smallest size and kept her parasol up as Mercury went to shield them, retracting its blade so that he had a flat surface to brace against instead of being sent flying by the blaze. She gently heaved him back upright when the flames stopped and spun Hush to rest on her shoulder as it snapped closed, glaring up at Vernal with a look fury that bordered on familiar to the other Neo if she was still watching.

Which, unlike it apparently was for most people in this massive brawl, wasn't a positive.

HMPH.

Neo didn't know what this Neo's problem was. She had Roman, they appeared to have been close, and she was (almost) as good looking as the original. When she died, Neo could slip right in and be overjoyed with the life she'd stolen!

Besides, Neo would rather an alternate version of her take on a maiden and (hopefully) die than Roman. Speaking of which, she watched him dueling Ren with the slightest bit of worry. The Roman she'd known wasn't a slouch when it came to fighting but as time went on, it started to become clear that the goody goods were starting to get stronger and Roman was lagging behind with his relatively simply weapon and lack of semblance not doing him any favors. Still, she'd keep an eye on him no matter what!

The only issue was trying to protect him without any of these idiots throwing a hissy fit/complaining to Ozpin about it. The last thing she needed after that hurtful display of Roman refusing to look at her was having the most evil being in this alternate world pissed off at her for 'not being a team player.' What was she supposed to do?? Join team good and act like she DIDN'T want to murder the shit out of her counterpart??? Whom Neo felt it very important to remind that had betrayed her after a hard fought battle!!!

Thankfully, Roman seemed to at least be holding his own-Wait. No!

Watching as Nora came in, thoughts raced through Neo's head. Would it look too suspicious if she kicked him out of harm's way again? The bad guys may put two and two together and try hurting him to get an advantage on her other! But she couldn't stand by and do nothing!

Roman turned to face Nora and moved Melodic Cudgel up to try and block the incoming hammer strike. The ground started to crack around his feet and before he knew it, minuscule cracks started to appear along his cane. He...He just wasn't strong enough to stop her! Melodic Cudgel was going to break and-

"Oof!"

Neo straight football tackled him out of the way, Maghild smashing a crater into the ground right where that bowler hat wearing loser had been standing. Coughing and somewhat shaken by how close he was to a hammer to the chest, he looked over at Neo who immediately rolled to her feet and pointed Hush at him. She had to at least pretend to be attacking him. All while giving a sheepish shrug over to Nora and Ren. Oops, guess she accidentally tripped into a tackle! Funny story, huh?

"*nervous giggle...?*"

"Neo.."

Roman pushed himself up and examined Melodic Cudgel. Nora was freakishly strong and if Neo hadn't intervened, she'd have smashed straight through it and hit him. Then he'd be down a weapon and in dire need of 'help please the hammer wielding thug is beating my ass'. Still, the other Neo had saved him, yet again. He exhaled.

'I'm sorry."

Neo blinked. Did he really need as though he needed to apologize to her? Well, she supposed it was deserved! After all, she'd only done what she'd been forced to do! Killing her counterpart was just going to be the goal and they could be happy-

Was....Was he pointing Melodic Cudgel at HER????

"...You don't seem like a 100% bad guy, Neo. But...."

She noticed the grip was shaky and she took a step forward to try and push it away. Out of all the things she could have pictured happening just now. An apology, a hug, an attempt for them to fight and help Neo look more convincing? Him rather coldly pointing his weapon at her?! It was in the 'never gonna happen, surely' category.



​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

Rustle

That was the most warning any near the fringes of battle got before something struck at them from the dark. A few Shadow Fang dogs who found themselves too close to the bushes and trees encircling Mistral's rustic academy were dispatched, casualties preceding the true offensive about to commence.

In the shadows, a pair of equally sinister smiles painted the hooded faces of Corsac and Fennec Albain as the pair turned to address their compatriots, hidden in the depths of the treeline.

"Reparation, my brothers."

"Glory, my sisters."

They turned and stalked through the trees, and after a moment others followed suit. It was like Beacon all over again. Faunus of all colors and creeds descended on the battlefield, clad in the white and red of the more militant White Fang as Mistral's division immediately engaged their one-time kin in the Shadow Fang, along with the filth and criminals they stood together with. The brothers were a terror a cut above the ordinary in their own right, Corsac effortlessly dodging around one hail of gunfire that kicked up the dirt at his feet as Fennec leveled an ornate wand-dagger hybrid towards the offending Shadow Fang unit. The air swirled at their feet, and from nowhere a cyclone battered and lifted the trio into the air to catapult them from the mountain unceremoniously as the skirmish started to grow in intensity.

---

Not far away, a lone figure took slow, measured steps up the stairway leading to Mistral's CCT tower, pace calm and determined. Wilt hung low from her side, drawn and at a slight angle so the tip extended to lightly tap against the railings as she made her way up, a trail of dispatched Shadow Fang footmen left in her wake starting from the bottom of the stairs.

Clang.

The noise it made was muted, but rang out and left a low hum in the air from the vibrating metals. They recurred in intervals of about three seconds, which happened to more or less coincide with every time another Shadow Fang agent was cut down, their gunfire deflected and weapons disabled all without Eve ever breaking from her monotonous pace. She seemed to care little for announcing her presence, continuing to stalk towards the entrance.

Clang.

Her scouts, some of the White Fang's best infiltrators who lay in wait around the academy had plenty of interest to report about the Shadow Fang's stake in all this, the explosives planted around the school with a high volume focused on the CCT tower. Smart. Probably what she'd do, if she still had any interest in being a terrorist.

Clang.

She was alert, but the daunting, overbearing arrogance customary of Eve Taurus added a flare to her entrance and even a bit of a sashay to her step as her slow advanced neared the top of the stairs, wondering how many clangs and how many fallen Shadow Fang there would have to be before she came out to face her.​

But nobody came

Eventually that included the Shadow Fang grunts Blake had brought along. Eve knew there were still some standing; she could feel their eyes dancing across her aura with lethal intent, as if they could bring it down with stares alone, but they kept to the rooftops and shadows, just out of sight. as the last clang heralded the end of her ascent, there was no one to greet her, no champion who stood courageously in her way. That had never been Blake's style, so it likely wasn't a surprise, but neither did a chain scythe come spinning out of darkness on a trajectory for Eve's jugular, nor did a shadow come to life in a bid to cut her off at the knees. In fact, there wasn't any sign of the Shadow Fang's right hand of bloody justice at all. Because for all her martial prowess and righteous anger, Eve Taurus wasn't the biggest danger to the Shadow Fang.

At least, not for a few more seconds.


It was a good plan. Not only did Ilia have foreknowledge that such a plan would work, no one else in this world had reason to suspect it. She'd been released at the edge of Mistral, and even if Sienna had been sure that Ilia would betray their trust, there were so many ways to go about that it would have been impossible to know for certain in what way. And even then, if they somehow knew that Ilia knew about the oncoming bombing, and that she would be in Haven, she was one of the few people who could hid in such a way that even the keen eyes of a faunus couldn't pick her out. There wasn't any reason to think it wouldn't go off without a hitch.

Which was why, as she reached out to tear the wiring out of one of the bombs that was planted against the tower, it made no sense that Gambol shroud suddenly cut across her vision before a gunshot rang out, the ribbon tangling around both her arms and pulling taut. She found herself yanked into the air off the tower as Blake leaped off from higher up, and an expert twist of the wrist and a pull just so at the same time as a semblance dash sent Ilia and Blake spinning to the ground below at high speed, Blake the inside of the circle and Ilia stuck at the outer edge of the wheel.

Ilia hit the pavement with so much force that it didn't crack so much as shatter, an explosion of dust and debris that suddenly sprung into existence at the entrance to the tower in front of Eve. The ribbon around her wrists that had been an inescapable binding moments before somehow slackened and slipped loose before it vanished, and for a moment it seemed that their attacker had slipped away entirely as the dust finished its outward trip and slowly began to drift back down.

Eve saw the dust cloud shifting before she saw her attacker as someone on the other side of it suddenly burst forward in a swing, but the outline in the smoke was telegraphed enough in its oncoming downward slash that it was simple enough to block. Or it would have been, if Blush would budge from its scabbard. The slash came down straight for Eve head to rip through a chunk of her aura before Pyrrha Nikos pivoted on her foot to backhand the faunus with her shield to send her flying back down the stairs she'd climbed in her declaration of war.

Ilia, in whatever state that attack left her, had even less warning as Blake came flying down from on high just as the dust began to clear in an attempt to impale the chameleon faunus with Gambol in sword mode while she was still grounded from the attack

 

[MyrtenRose]

"Never really told anybody about this before, but you've got me in a real bad mood. I used to fight a lot as a kid, illegal underground stuff, y'know? I was a kid and most of the other guys were adults. I took some wins, I took some losses. But these right here...?" Tyrian tapped one of the scars with his index finger. "I gave these to myself as punishment for losing to a human. Fight was rigged but that didn't matter. A man needs to have principals or else he's got nothing....and I think mine just flew out the window...." Tyrian's tail started to unwind and he lowered himself so he was slightly hunched over with his tail coiling up, ready to sting.

'I'm sorry, old man. I'm sorry, mom, dad. I've had these feelings for a long time. This guy just gave me the push I needed to stop surpressing them.' Tyrian thought as a last sign of regret for letting his grisly murderous urges finally take center stage. "Here's what I think of your offer, human." Tyrian spit on the ground.

Tyrian huffed and pounced.

His tail going in for a flurry of quick stabs before pulling back.​

"You know, you could have just said no. That would have been enough." Qrow pointed out, still every bit as sarcastic as he expressed his complete and utter disinterest in hearing Tyrian's hard life backstory. His expression turned thoughtful even as he kept himself in constant motion, doing all he could to avoid the incoming tail stabs and slice back with his sword when openings presented themselves. "You know...I think I saw a story almost exactly like that in a movie once."
​

From losing his cool after seeing Cinder struck down and killing that Shadow Fang member, he was starting to slowly accept this. This was his true nature. Every slimy need to kill bit of it. As his tail and swipes continued to hammer away at Qrow, Tyrian knew what he wanted to do and it was his only shot of taking out this guy once and for all. Use his semblance to destroy his aura and stab him with his stinger and let the bastard suffer for what he'd done.

"Heheheheahahaahaha!"

He continued to avoid and parry the blows as they came in, until an opening when Tyrian had quite accidentally overextended his footing and made the scorpion stumble that Qrow began counter-attacking in full.

 

[MyrtenRose]

"Hey! You know what they're calling me now?? The 'Badass of Beacon!' It kind of has a nice ring to it, wouldn't you agree? Oh wait, you're the guy who got crushed by a big robot, you aren't getting any fancy titties"

"..."

​

Was....Was he pointing Melodic Cudgel at HER????

"...You don't seem like a 100% bad guy, Neo. But...."

She noticed the grip was shaky and she took a step forward to try and push it away. Out of all the things she could have pictured happening just now. An apology, a hug, an attempt for them to fight and help Neo look more convincing? Him rather coldly pointing his weapon at her?! It was in the 'never gonna happen, surely' category.

"..." Nora didn't know what kind of heartfelt randomness was going on in front of her here. She also knew she didn't care. If the new girl wanted to do whatever this was and get in the crime lord's way, that was on her. Nora charged in again while they were distracted like this.