Fandom Distorted Mirror [IC]

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

He'd been too slow.

again.

To say he was disgusted with himself was to say the sun was hot. The sound of Tyrian's pained screams had cut through the din of the fight like it was meant for Arthur's ears specifically, and they sliced his guilt down to the bone. If there was one thing to say in his defense (not that he'd take it), it'd be he was certainly distracted before it happened, as one particular member of the shadowfang had decided she didn't like what the Altas hacker was doing. Or more specifically that she didn't know what he was doing.

No sooner had he finished off the three lower members of the shadow fang that had been pursuing him and focused solely on his work did the sound of a gunshot herald her arrival. He turned just in time to see her draw her blade, and he failed to catch it on his shield as it sent him tumbling to the ground with a grunt of pain as the shadow fang operative slid to the ground next to him at the same time she resheathed her blade, either someone who'd picked up a quick draw style independently or had been a Taurus fangirl before the split. Arthur hadn't even made it to his knees all the way when another gunshot sounded and he had to raise his shield in a haphazard defense that sent him sprawled to the ground from the force, the masked faunus ballistic dash coming to a halt a dozen meter's past him as she spun her weapon back into its sheathe. He used his unwilling momentum to at least ensure he rolled all the way to his feet this time, and he twisted on his leg to squeeze off a few shots at the faunus before she could blow past him again, but she was light on her feet. Fire and ice exploded behind her as she zig zagged from side to side through the gun fire, and Watts actually couldn't keep out a short cry of pain as the next dash caught him right through the knee, his aura flickering dangerously from the sheer force of momentum added to the blade's edge.


By the time he heard Tyrian's cry, he was being sent flying to his back again, and this time his aura shattered. The white fang member slowly resheathed her blade, taking the time to draw its edge against the side to remove the blood from it before it settled in with a satisfying click. She turned on her heel with a satisfied grin underneath her face mask, and was absolutely offended that she saw Arthur flipping her off from where he was lying there after his ass kicking.

Then he pressed a button, having been slowly weaving the last bits of code he needed in the desperate seconds he could spare during that fight.

*screeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH*

The comms units that anyone connected to the network Ozpin's forces were using suddenly exploded with a level of sound that made a laughable mockery of the max setting on the volume bar, high pitched and as vicious as any blade. To the humans in the network, it was painful, potentially hearing ruining. To the faunus on their side as fellow students or members of the white fang, with their enhanced senses, it kinda hurt even being near someone wearing an ear piece.

To the members of the shadow fang or any other faunus working against the heroes, it was like their brain suddenly got put through a paper shredder, and Watts' assailant suddenly collapsed to her knees with a scream that she couldn't even hear past the sound in her ears.

 

[MyrtenRose]

the whip snapped out and caught Blake square in the chin where she'd stabbed her sword into the ground, only for that blake to swirl into mist at the same time a foot slammed into the back of her legs , Blake's semblance putting her behind where Ilia's dodge had landed in a complete disregard for physics as her shadow clone faked the landing.

"You should have stayed AWAY!"

Whether the obvious, hurt frustration at the situation buried in Blake's angered words made it worse or better for Ilia was up for debate. Gambol's bladed sheathe caught the chameleon in the back with an upwards swing that sparked against her aura and sent her spinning through the air away from blake.

The cat faunus was already transforming gambol back into its chainscythe mode at the same time, and as soon as Ilia got a few meters away in her arc, a gunshot heralded the first in what was a flurry of slashes that created a blur of silver and black around Blake in a sphere, the ribbon and deft handwork sending the weapon flying at Ilia from almost every angle imaginable as Blake sought to overwhelm the imposter's defenses

A grunt escaped her lips at the swing that struck her, the blow enough to send her twirling through the air. A quick extension of her weapon shot out and wrapped around a railing on the tower. A quick click and it pulled the upside down chameleon out of that spinning descent and up a ways. Just as she reached that railing, her boots pushed off it in a backflip that brought her from upside down to right side up as she perched there on the railing. it's over Anakin, I have the high ground. Ilia frowned as she swung Lightning Lash back and forth, the whip doing a remarkable job as a counter to Blake's own weapon in this situation, intercepting the slashes just enough that every attack was kept from hitting her.

Her eyes flickered from a sad blue to a more unyielding and resolute gray as she stared down Blake all the while. "That was never an option Blake! Not while you're making all the wrong decisions and dragging people down along with you! You told the other me that her parents would be proud of the work she's doing, got her to believe that. But your--no, Ozpin's plan, how many parents would die if that plan turned out to be a success? Could you even count how many? How would more dead parents make ours proud?? I know that pain just as well as your Ilia does, and I know there's nothing to be proud of in spreading that suffering to anyone else!"

As soon as she had an opening, she lashed out with her whip intending to wrap it around Blake and tug hard to pull the cat up to have her head bonk on the railing.​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"Wrong with me?" She repeated before she shook her head. "Absolutely nothing. I just know the truth of the world. The strong survive and the weak die out. It's the way it is, the way it always will be. Even animals know that. And Ozpin is the strongest there is. I won't die, like the countless weaklings scattered across Remnant will. I'll survive and I'll thrive, no matter what. Unlike you."



"That's the first sensible thing you've said this entire time." Yang obliged her counterpart, her gauntlets firing out a series of shots at the other.​

"-YEA WE GET IT YOU JOINED A CULT!" Yang interuppted about halfway through that boast as she forced her doubles hand into starting the gunfire early by charging forward.

Yang exploded forwards with a pair of shots in the same direction her counterpart was firing to send herself off before she shifted her arms to press together in a boxer's defense as she weaved through the gunfire. expert shots still pinged off her arms and shoulders as her charge didn't completely avoid damage, but she leaped in the air with her fist drawn back in preparations for a punch. Only for the other hand to suddenly fire, held lower and across her body to point the other way to shoot her momentum forward once more and more importantly down. she threw both arms up and narrowed herself in an attempt to slide straight underneath and between her double's legs, which if successful she kipped up from and straight up sprinted away from the fight.

If and when her dark reflection turned to follow, she heard a beep as Yang flicked her wrists, and a pair of sticky charges she'd set on the ground during that slide exploded at her feet.

Because as satisfying as it would've been to smash the face in of her lesser half, she could see that a whole lot of the students were having a whole lotta problems with her almost-best-friend-sorry-nora-but-weiss-is-my-teammate's double, and Yang figured they wouldn't expect her to break off from her assigned dance partner. No sooner had Nora finished swinging at Hazel did Yang's fist suddenly come flying in at a side angle as she tried to plant a full strength haymaker into the side of Nora's gut.

 

[MyrtenRose]

Yang exploded forwards with a pair of shots in the same direction her counterpart was firing to send herself off before she shifted her arms to press together in a boxer's defense as she weaved through the gunfire. expert shots still pinged off her arms and shoulders as her charge didn't completely avoid damage, but she leaped in the air with her fist drawn back in preparations for a punch. Only for the other hand to suddenly fire, held lower and across her body to point the other way to shoot her momentum forward once more and more importantly down. she threw both arms up and narrowed herself in an attempt to slide straight underneath and between her double's legs, which if successful she kipped up from and straight up sprinted away from the fight.

If and when her dark reflection turned to follow, she heard a beep as Yang flicked her wrists, and a pair of sticky charges she'd set on the ground during that slide exploded at her feet.

"..." The absolute cowardice her counterpart showed in that maneuver was more than enough to bring a hateful sneer of disgust to Yang's face, already turning to give chase to the weakling who would rather run than face her head on wait what was that beeping. Yang's eyes flicked downward and she found her answer, the sudden explosion blasting her skyward. The scowl on her face only got more angry and she threw her hands behind her to fire off several rounds, changing her direction in mid-air to keep from going up any further and instead sending her rocketing after her doppelganger.​

No sooner had Nora finished swinging at Hazel did Yang's fist suddenly come flying in at a side angle as she tried to plant a full strength haymaker into the side of Nora's gut.

"Agh! Goddammit!!" Nora roared in frustration from the pain, that heavy punch sending the small criminal soaring through the air...but her weapon transformed instantaneously as she did so. How many more of them are coming?? Is this guy really that popular to have so many rush to his aid??? She bit down on the pain(including the annoying ringing in her ear) as well as that potentially troubling thought of more reinforcements, doing what she could to suppress the sensation of pain and even as she flew back further, she managed to fire a grenade that exploded right in front of the blonde's face. Just as her evil self caught up, lunging through the air to grab Yang by the back of the head and forcibly grind her face against the concrete of the ground for as long as her forward momentum continued.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

Yet that didn't mean she wouldn't get what enjoyment she could out of this. No matter how many times Eve tried to charge up the stairs, Pyrrha was steadfast in her rebuke. Sometimes her weapon would be allowed to swing, only to angle just wrong so that it found Pyrrha's shield like it had been destined to strike it instead of Nikos, and the champions own attacks always slipped just inside or past Eve's blocks. It was like being on the receiving end of Qrow's semblance, only far more calculated and vicious in its application, and the only people who likely had a worse mismatch in their supernatural abilities against Nikos was the girl who was literally made of metal. Her one saving grace was, in the midst of all this, Pyrrha whipped her shield once in a throw that shot over her shoulder in a showing of uncharacteristically bad aim, only for it to strike a Shadow Fang member straight in the neck when she'd tried to descend on Eve with a hammer-esque weapon from above, apparently emboldened by seeing someone who could handle their legendary champion. The shield rebounded back to her hand with such speed that it could barely be considered an opening, and Pyrrha's first words in this fight were a seemingly sincere "SORRY!" as she resettled her defenses.

Even if she wasn't allowed to let it be a fair one, this was her fight.

And as it would happen, she did keep trying. It was a cycle that ended up repeating about half a dozen times, Nikos the matador to her bull as Eve continued to charge up, manage a brief exchange, then find herself battered back down to the bottom of the steps again; though as the outcome of every clash became obvious her offensives became more feints than proper onslaughts. She left herself in a better position to break off the engagement, her trips to the bottom of the stairway not costing her too much aura by the final attempt, and every time she landed she felt like she had a better understanding of whatever trick the gladiator kept pulling. If there was one thing in Remnant Eve was familiar with it was her sword, and the way she wielded it; the speed she drew at, the way its weight distributed, the wind resistance against every swing. Something was wrong here. Her skills weren't being dulled—her weapon was. She could already tell Nikos was able to exert some form of control over it. The more they clashed and she was struck back, the more she was understanding about the nature of that control, registering things as tiny as the low-pitched hum her weapon's steel seemed to shudder with every time it was affected.

Of course, she was having to juggle that against the lethal, boiling frustration she felt rising within her, as this uninvolved human planted herself like a wall and kept her from pursuing any of the things she'd actually come here to achieve. Eve liked a challenge, but most enjoyment she gleaned came from the intoxicating high of overpowering and conquering that challenge. This was just a bitch.

But by the time she reached the bottom of the stairs after their sixth exchange, at least it was one she could say with confidence she felt she understood. She rose with both hands gripping Wilt from where she landed, half-crouched, and the bitter snort she gave paired well with her look of sour disappointment.

"Tch. You know... I've seen your fights. I'll bet anyone who's ever picked up a sword has; Wondered what it'd feel like to face you."

Her tone was oddly respectful, near complimentary. All it did was make the note of dissatisfaction spiking her next words seem all the more venomous.

"I can't imagine how disappointed they'd be to find out you're just a fraud with a cheap semblance that makes her LOOK better than she actually IS!"

Wilt was quickdrawn in the same breath as that last, contemptuous roar, but it didn't precede another charge. A dark, swirling tempest had started kicking up from the dirt near her feet, generating an energy that sparked across her aura and had her wild locks fluttering in a nonexistent breeze, the only warning Pyrrha had before a maelstrom of chaotic red energy surged up the steps towards her. A generous way of putting it; rather than scaling the stairwell, the energy that had accumulated from the Shadow Fang's gunfire and Pyrrha's own strikes more or less ripped them in half straight down the middle as it rushed for her adversary's position, an explosion of wood splinters and dust kicking up into an obfuscating vortex. Wherever the Mistralian ended up after that, a piercing BANG rose above all other sounds, and she just about had time to react to Wilt's pommel as it came through the cloud of dust to try strike her right between the eyes.

Hardly an instant passed before Eve herself was right next to her, a combination of the smokescreen and ninjutsu skills used to reach Pyrrha's level from another angle. Something roughly Wilt's proportions was in hand, swinging for a flurry of blows that came so quickly the sounds of them landing practically blended together. One thing was readily apparent—it wasn't Wilt. And it wasn't Blush either.

It was nothing more than a simple wooden beam, snatched from the wreckage and hardened to an appropriate level with aura control as Eve let her frustration rain with every blow. Time to see if her hunch was right.​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

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?"

As she saw her massive payload get entirely sucked up and potentially turned against them, Neo inadvertently mimed her old world assailant as she halfway collapsed in a mixture of dismay and surprise.

Spoiler

Then the all powerful maiden had some kind of anxiety attack that Neo would've been very sure of the source of had said source not been crumpled in a heap on the ground and was instead the source of Neo's current sad rage. The anxious guilt that she just gave the enemy a whole lot of fire that was about to be turned on them faded. The confusion did not.

"..."

Mercury just gave Neo a lowkey sideways glance and shrug. Well, they couldn't make her stay if she didn't want to.

"I'll check on Torchwick. You can get Em away without anyone seeing, right? Just... help her!" He grunted his frustration, unwilling to even look in his partner's direction himself.​

She returned his shrug, and when he barked the order she... hesitated. If there was anyone she thought she'd never lose track of, it'd be torchwick, but taking to the skies against vernal had taken up almost all of her focus. Trusting his safety to someone other than herself, even if that self was her worse and uglier and just overall not as cool self wasn't exactly a great feeling.

But this was Mercury, and he was right; it was clear Vernal wasn't planning on sticking around for a fight, he'd saved Torchwick himself plenty of times, and if anyone could get Emerald to safety it was her. She gave him a quick salute just before he turned to leave

A couple of suitable venting bags presented themselves in the shape of a bandit and White Fang goon tandem who had put their races' differences aside and cemented a genuine, nurturing friendship in the time since their crews joined up, one built on two-way communication and respect. Mercury effortlessly spin-kicked the first guy's gun so he shot his friend then almost booted his head off his shoulders with his next step, before breaking into a sprint across the battlefield with one last fading shout back at his teammate.

"I'M SORRY I WAS A JERK TO YOUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..."

Mercury wasn't exactly the best at sharing. Or talking. Or communicating in any kind of a way that involved lowering the multiple layers of caustic wit and sarcasm he'd erected to defend himself against the world. But him and Neo had that kinda relationship where a whole lot didn't really need to be said, and going to town on a piece of dirt they had mutual beef with was probably the one time enough of a communication pathway opened up for him to address that lingering elephant in the room. Him and Neo hadn't really... anything since that heavy talk at Beacon. It was a little awkward, but Mercury was way too macho and prideful to say anything, and he was kind of happy to revert to pretending he never said anything considering how deep Schnee's involvement in all this went.

Maybe it took seeing his partner get deep fried in about 3 seconds to dispel that pointless bullshit. If he didn't say that now, there was no guarantee there'd even be a chance at the tail end of this fight.

But he knew one thing. If anyone else on his team was getting hurt tonight, it was him.

She blinked a few times in surprise at the declaration, and despite the dread, anger, anxiety, and just overall fucking awful ways everything about this fight was leaving her feeling, a wavy smile snuck out of her.

What a jerk. Turning away from her in the middle of a conversation again.

She sighed and shook her head, before she shattered as some thug unleashed a rocket at her from his weapon. He slowly lowered it with a look of surprised awe, before he looked at it with reverence.

"...Bro."

It just... utterly destroyed that student. He didn't know he could do that. Kled was gonna be so impressed

half a minute later, Neo skidded a to a halt near Emerald, gently putting a hand to her neck to see if she still had a pulse before she scooped her up in her arms and slipped away, heading for the nearest door to slip into and give her teammate a more thorough check for injuries.

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

A grunt escaped her lips at the swing that struck her, the blow enough to send her twirling through the air. A quick extension of her weapon shot out and wrapped around a railing on the tower. A quick click and it pulled the upside down chameleon out of that spinning descent and up a ways. Just as she reached that railing, her boots pushed off it in a backflip that brought her from upside down to right side up as she perched there on the railing. it's over Anakin, I have the high ground. Ilia frowned as she swung Lightning Lash back and forth, the whip doing a remarkable job as a counter to Blake's own weapon in this situation, intercepting the slashes just enough that every attack was kept from hitting her.

Her eyes flickered from a sad blue to a more unyielding and resolute gray as she stared down Blake all the while. "That was never an option Blake! Not while you're making all the wrong decisions and dragging people down along with you! You told the other me that her parents would be proud of the work she's doing, got her to believe that. But your--no, Ozpin's plan, how many parents would die if that plan turned out to be a success? Could you even count how many? How would more dead parents make ours proud?? I know that pain just as well as your Ilia does, and I know there's nothing to be proud of in spreading that suffering to anyone else!"

As soon as she had an opening, she lashed out with her whip intending to wrap it around Blake and tug hard to pull the cat up to have her head bonk on the railing.​

"...Human parents."

Gambol shroud snapped back to her hand when Ilia pulled herself out of range, and she met Ilia's resolute glare with such violent determination burning in her eyes it was almost enough to knock Ilia off the railing by itself.

"Not faunus parents. Not anymore. We've paid the blood price a hundred times over. We're done paying, I won't rest until no faunus ever has to pay that price AGAIN-"

Ilia found her opening, when Blake suddenly cupped her hands to her ears in a downright girlish whimper of shocked pain, and very shortly after that her head rebounded against the railing with a loud clang. Thankfully Shadow Fang masks weren't just for show; they included solid plating, like the visor of old world armor, along with a bevy of technical enhancements borrowed from their unlikely bedfellows at schneecorp.

Unfortunately that also included their communications, and blake had to rip the mask off while she fell to the ground before she barely landed on her feet.

"...God DAMMIT!" She roared as she punched the ground, a bit of blood trickling from her ears. She disappeared in a blur that richoceted between the lamp posts next to the tower before she crashed into Ilia with both blades drawn in a furious rain of blows, left right over right right left- it was relentless, and her pursuit was moreso if Ilia tried to disengage

 

[MidwayLives]

"HEY!" She bellowed in obvious irritation, a glare of pure frustration directed at them both. "QUIT TALKING AND ACTING LIKE I'M NOT RIGHT HERE TRYING TO FIGHT YOU!!! STOP WASTING TIME AND FIGHT ME, DAMMIT!!! YOU CAN'T JUST IGNORE ME LIKE THIS, YOU MASCARA WEARING CLUELESS GINGER FUCKTRUMPET!!! YOU'RE GIVING ALL GINGERS A BAD GODDAMN NAME!!!"

"Oh shut up!!" Roman yelled back. He was pouring his heart out here to a possibly redeemable villain!

Neo just felt appreciated. Still hated that Roman was thinking less of her and more of that other bitch though. : T
​

A trio of grenades soared through the air when he hesitated like that, their trajectory taking them on a path heading straight for his chest.

"Oh crap!"

Two of them he could blast with Melodic Cudgel. In the time it'd take him to do that however, the last one would hit and it'd demolish his aura! He'd be left vulnerable for whoever-

​

The grenades impacted something, alright, dust cloud that kicked up from the force obfuscating whatever it hit.

Something big burst from it, the dust billowing about as Hazel careened for the pancake-devouring crimelord with a massive left arm outstretched for a lariat.

Maybe it took seeing his partner get deep fried in about 3 seconds to dispel that pointless bullshit. If he didn't say that now, there was no guarantee there'd even be a chance at the tail end of this fight.

But he knew one thing. If anyone else on his team was getting hurt tonight, it was him.

The dust had cleared and Roman was....still standing? Gotta admit, even he was surprised by that. This time, Neo didn't even have time to save his ass this go-around. No, what saved Roman this time was the power of friendship(and Hazel being an absolute tank helped out a bunch as well of course!)

"....Thanks you guys."

Gripping onto the brim of his hat, Roman sneered. "Guess you guys are the ones who goofed up! Nobody messes with the 'Badass of Beacon!' I got comrades willing to help me out all over the damn place!" As he prepped to line up a shot after seeing Nora get thrown back by Yang's punch, he noticed Neo was gone.

....Wherever she'd gone, it wasn't likely to be good. She didn't seem like she'd show any of his friends the same kindness she'd been giving him.

He simply couldn't worry about that right now though! He HAD to take Nora down and he had to do it now while they had a numbers advantage on her!

~~~~

"Relieved sigh*"

Neo was prepared to simply take down Ren and threaten to slit his throat if Nora didn't cut the shit. But that would have certainly gotten her a F in teamwork when this was all said and done. Skilled as she believed herself to be, getting sandwiched in between with both sides hating her guts was not an enviable position to wind up in. So it was with a great deal of relief when Roman's friends started showing up to help give him a hand against the ginger bitch.Even if that help had to come partially from that brute of all people. Ugh, why couldn't Yang and her double just kill eachother?? It'd make Neo's stay in this world that much more tolerable?

All that aside, it also saved Neo from needing to stick her neck out anymore than she already had and it opened her up to do other things!

Namely...



Vanishing, but not before giving Roman a slight peck on the cheek, she seemingly disappeared from the Nora vs Roman's squad battle.

As Neo raced towards the door with Emerald in tow and made her way through to another room, she'd soon feel a sharp pain around the back of her head as she was given a good punting. to the back of the skull. With the definitely fried and still quite unconscious Emerald dropping to the floor, Neo touched down and quirked her head in curiosity. The Emerald she knew had an amazing semblance. Very effective when she wanted it to be. It'd be so easy ot just step on and snap her neck right here and spare herself any potential headaches if this one were to wake up and cause any problems. Plus it'd definitely piss off her other.

"*disappointing groan*"

Buuuuuuut, it seemed like this Emerald was also friends with this world's Roman so she could kiss her plans to be with him down the drain if she killed her. Ah well, she'd make due however she could. Besides, Neo knew in her heart that her other had desired this just as much as she did. Roman and the others were distracted fighting Nora which meant there'd no interference here.~



No giggles, not this time. Just a smug smirk and a 'shhh' gesture.

​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

And as it would happen, she did keep trying. It was a cycle that ended up repeating about half a dozen times, Nikos the matador to her bull as Eve continued to charge up, manage a brief exchange, then find herself battered back down to the bottom of the steps again; though as the outcome of every clash became obvious her offensives became more feints than proper onslaughts. She left herself in a better position to break off the engagement, her trips to the bottom of the stairway not costing her too much aura by the final attempt, and every time she landed she felt like she had a better understanding of whatever trick the gladiator kept pulling. If there was one thing in Remnant Eve was familiar with it was her sword, and the way she wielded it; the speed she drew at, the way its weight distributed, the wind resistance against every swing. Something was wrong here. Her skills weren't being dulled—her weapon was. She could already tell Nikos was able to exert some form of control over it. The more they clashed and she was struck back, the more she was understanding about the nature of that control, registering things as tiny as the low-pitched hum her weapon's steel seemed to shudder with every time it was affected.

Of course, she was having to juggle that against the lethal, boiling frustration she felt rising within her, as this uninvolved human planted herself like a wall and kept her from pursuing any of the things she'd actually come here to achieve. Eve liked a challenge, but most enjoyment she gleaned came from the intoxicating high of overpowering and conquering that challenge. This was just a bitch.

But by the time she reached the bottom of the stairs after their sixth exchange, at least it was one she could say with confidence she felt she understood. She rose with both hands gripping Wilt from where she landed, half-crouched, and the bitter snort she gave paired well with her look of sour disappointment.

"Tch. You know... I've seen your fights. I'll bet anyone who's ever picked up a sword has; Wondered what it'd feel like to face you."

Her tone was oddly respectful, near complimentary. All it did was make the note of dissatisfaction spiking her next words seem all the more venomous.

"I can't imagine how disappointed they'd be to find out you're just a fraud with a cheap semblance that makes her LOOK better than she actually IS!"

Wilt was quickdrawn in the same breath as that last, contemptuous roar, but it didn't precede another charge. A dark, swirling tempest had started kicking up from the dirt near her feet, generating an energy that sparked across her aura and had her wild locks fluttering in a nonexistent breeze, the only warning Pyrrha had before a maelstrom of chaotic red energy surged up the steps towards her. A generous way of putting it; rather than scaling the stairwell, the energy that had accumulated from the Shadow Fang's gunfire and Pyrrha's own strikes more or less ripped them in half straight down the middle as it rushed for her adversary's position, an explosion of wood splinters and dust kicking up into an obfuscating vortex. Wherever the Mistralian ended up after that, a piercing BANG rose above all other sounds, and she just about had time to react to Wilt's pommel as it came through the cloud of dust to try strike her right between the eyes.

Hardly an instant passed before Eve herself was right next to her, a combination of the smokescreen and ninjutsu skills used to reach Pyrrha's level from another angle. Something roughly Wilt's proportions was in hand, swinging for a flurry of blows that came so quickly the sounds of them landing practically blended together. One thing was readily apparent—it wasn't Wilt. And it wasn't Blush either.

It was nothing more than a simple wooden beam, snatched from the wreckage and hardened to an appropriate level with aura control as Eve let her frustration rain with every blow. Time to see if her hunch was right.​

Pyrrha had been briefed on Eve and her semblance. They'd gotten a touch up on all of their potential enemies, the records of the students accessed by Weiss and Merlot, and Blake very forthcoming on the abilities of her former allies now that they'd turn against her. So when Eve's aura swirled, her stance became less of a bulwark and more poised, and when the beam cut upwards she twisted to the side with an easy grace that ended with her sword held at an angle behind her and shield raised just in time to knock wilt straight up into the air with a spinning richochet, her eyes already scanning for-

'She's fast!'

Her eyes caught eve at the side of her vision just in time to turn her shield and pull with her semblance, which did absolutely nothing to keep the beam of wood from cracking her square across the jaw. The follow slammed into the side of her head, the next caught her in the side, but the third was knocked aside by the shield, the fourth deftly parried with a flash of her sword, and by then she settled into the rhythm of combat.

And she laughed.

She sounded way too delighted for someone who was sporting a black eye that made her aura glow as it healed. the grin showed some teeth, and her next block was carried the momentum of Eve's strike as she let go at the same time it extended into spear form, the weapon spinning around the back of her neck before a flick of semblance pulled the trigger to make it rocket at Eve like a javelin at the same time Pyrrha used her shield to bat Eve's impromptu weapon aside.

"You figured it out! It usually takes people longer! Maybe this really will be a fight worth having!"

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"..." The absolute cowardice her counterpart showed in that maneuver was more than enough to bring a hateful sneer of disgust to Yang's face, already turning to give chase to the weakling who would rather run than face her head on wait what was that beeping. Yang's eyes flicked downward and she found her answer, the sudden explosion blasting her skyward. The scowl on her face only got more angry and she threw her hands behind her to fire off several rounds, changing her direction in mid-air to keep from going up any further and instead sending her rocketing after her doppelganger.



"Agh! Goddammit!!" Nora roared in frustration from the pain, that heavy punch sending the small criminal soaring through the air...but her weapon transformed instantaneously as she did so. How many more of them are coming?? Is this guy really that popular to have so many rush to his aid??? She bit down on the pain(including the annoying ringing in her ear) as well as that potentially troubling thought of more reinforcements, doing what she could to suppress the sensation of pain and even as she flew back further, she managed to fire a grenade that exploded right in front of the blonde's face. Just as her evil self caught up, lunging through the air to grab Yang by the back of the head and forcibly grind her face against the concrete of the ground for as long as her forward momentum continued.​

Yang barely managed to put her arms across in front of her as she felt someone grab the back of her head before she was slammed into the floor an instant later, and she grunted in obvious pain as the stone dragged against her arms. She growled as she planted her hands against the ground when they came to a stop.

"...Guessin we either have different semblances-"

The air around them grew warmer, and the hair this overripe banana was so rudely holding suddenly looked like it was on fire. Yang shoved herself up with the force of every hit this lunatic had landed so far on top of Nora's grenade and planted her feet under her before she twisted to face the other way,resulting in just absolutely way way too much hair pulling but also putting her inside Bad Yang's guard as she lashed to snag that Yang's collar bone with one hand and the bicep of the hand not currently MAKING HER INCREDIBLY FILLED WITH RAGE BY DRAGGING HER BY HER FREAKING HAIR, and rather than use her built up strength to just hit her back and return that strength to sender like the world's dumbest game of telephone if she did have the same semblence, She pulled, hard, her intent to completely dislocate the woman's shoulder

"-OR YOU'RE WAY TOO STUPID TO BE WEARING THAT FACE!"

 

[MyrtenRose]

"...Human parents."

Gambol shroud snapped back to her hand when Ilia pulled herself out of range, and she met Ilia's resolute glare with such violent determination burning in her eyes it was almost enough to knock Ilia off the railing by itself.

"Not faunus parents. Not anymore. We've paid the blood price a hundred times over. We're done paying, I won't rest until no faunus ever has to pay that price AGAIN-"

Ilia found her opening, when Blake suddenly cupped her hands to her ears in a downright girlish whimper of shocked pain, and very shortly after that her head rebounded against the railing with a loud clang. Thankfully Shadow Fang masks weren't just for show; they included solid plating, like the visor of old world armor, along with a bevy of technical enhancements borrowed from their unlikely bedfellows at schneecorp.

Unfortunately that also included their communications, and blake had to rip the mask off while she fell to the ground before she barely landed on her feet.

"...God DAMMIT!" She roared as she punched the ground, a bit of blood trickling from her ears. She disappeared in a blur that richoceted between the lamp posts next to the tower before she crashed into Ilia with both blades drawn in a furious rain of blows, left right over right right left- it was relentless, and her pursuit was moreso if Ilia tried to disengage

It was all she could do to avoid the onslaught of blows. Near dodges, jumping to the sides, rolling back...everything Ilia could do to keep out of reach of both those blades. Now that the mask was gone, she could see Blake's face in full and it was every bit as fierce as could be expected from somebody attacking so furiously. That savage death glare...seeing that look directed at her stung, and she felt sure that if any of the slices landed they wouldn't hurt even half as much. But as much as it hurt, the look only made her resolve stronger. Blake had to be stopped. "Listen to yourself!" Ilia yelled as she kept herself one step ahead of the assault. "Human, faunus...murder is still murder! It leaves a mark, no matter how you try to rationalize it. Some things aren't worth the cost!" She shook her head.

"And even if you think it is, don't forget, I've seen the man you're working with my own eyes. He's practically a grimm himself! Do you really think the grimm are gonna care whether their prey is human or faunus?! They won't discriminate in their slaughter!" The chameleon jumped back, a leap that had her falling backwards off the tower. As Blake followed in close pursuit, Ilia had already used her whip to slingshot around one of the lampposts right back towards the cat faunus that had both of Ilia's boots slam into her in an attempt to kick her skyward, which if it worked was quickly followed by her whip wrapping around Blake and delivering a high voltage to try and end this before Blake got even more hurt.​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"Oh shut up!!" Roman yelled back. He was pouring his heart out here to a possibly redeemable villain!

Neo just felt appreciated. Still hated that Roman was thinking less of her and more of that other bitch though. : T


"Oh crap!"

Two of them he could blast with Melodic Cudgel. In the time it'd take him to do that however, the last one would hit and it'd demolish his aura! He'd be left vulnerable for whoever-




The dust had cleared and Roman was....still standing? Gotta admit, even he was surprised by that. This time, Neo didn't even have time to save his ass this go-around. No, what saved Roman this time was the power of friendship(and Hazel being an absolute tank helped out a bunch as well of course!)

"....Thanks you guys."

Gripping onto the brim of his hat, Roman sneered. "Guess you guys are the ones who goofed up! Nobody messes with the 'Badass of Beacon!' I got comrades willing to help me out all over the damn place!" As he prepped to line up a shot after seeing Nora get thrown back by Yang's punch, he noticed Neo was gone.

....Wherever she'd gone, it wasn't likely to be good. She didn't seem like she'd show any of his friends the same kindness she'd been giving him.

He simply couldn't worry about that right now though! He HAD to take Nora down and he had to do it now while they had a numbers advantage on her!

~~~~

"Relieved sigh*"

Neo was prepared to simply take down Ren and threaten to slit his throat if Nora didn't cut the shit. But that would have certainly gotten her a F in teamwork when this was all said and done. Skilled as she believed herself to be, getting sandwiched in between with both sides hating her guts was not an enviable position to wind up in. So it was with a great deal of relief when Roman's friends started showing up to help give him a hand against the ginger bitch.Even if that help had to come partially from that brute of all people. Ugh, why couldn't Yang and her double just kill eachother?? It'd make Neo's stay in this world that much more tolerable?

All that aside, it also saved Neo from needing to stick her neck out anymore than she already had and it opened her up to do other things!

Namely...



Vanishing, but not before giving Roman a slight peck on the cheek, she seemingly disappeared from the Nora vs Roman's squad battle.

As Neo raced towards the door with Emerald in tow and made her way through to another room, she'd soon feel a sharp pain around the back of her head as she was given a good punting. to the back of the skull. With the definitely fried and still quite unconscious Emerald dropping to the floor, Neo touched down and quirked her head in curiosity. The Emerald she knew had an amazing semblance. Very effective when she wanted it to be. It'd be so easy ot just step on and snap her neck right here and spare herself any potential headaches if this one were to wake up and cause any problems. Plus it'd definitely piss off her other.

"*disappointing groan*"

Buuuuuuut, it seemed like this Emerald was also friends with this world's Roman so she could kiss her plans to be with him down the drain if she killed her. Ah well, she'd make due however she could. Besides, Neo knew in her heart that her other had desired this just as much as she did. Roman and the others were distracted fighting Nora which meant there'd no interference here.~

View attachment 689103

No giggles, not this time. Just a smug smirk and a 'shhh' gesture.

​

If Diet Neo wanted to stomp anywhere near emerald, she was going to have to get through the real (:||||) Neo first, who held on tight to her teammate even after they were sent crashing to the floor so that when they stopped she was standing protectively over her, like one of those purse dogs who exhibit powerful doberman energy. She glowered at the other Neo as she raised her finger in a shush gesture before she slowly stood up and rested Hush across her shoulder with a spin.

Her wary, judgemental glare hid whatever other emotions were hiding underneath, and her glance went up and down her form as she really took a moment to look over what this girl was wearing. She twirled hush back off her shoulder to plant on the ground perpendicular to it, where it shimmered with illusion to become.... a stripper pole. Neo gestured at it with her other hand and a dull frown in a silent ask if her with the sluttier fashion sense wanted to take a spin on what seemed to be her natural habitat.

 

[MyrtenRose]

Yang barely managed to put arms in across in front of her as she felt someone grab the back of her head before she was slammed into the floor an instant later, and she grunted in obvious pain as the stone dragged against her arms. She growled as she planted her hands against the ground when they came to a stop.

"...Guessin we either have different semblances-"

The air around them grew warmer, and the hair this overripe banana was so rudely holding suddenly looked like it was on fire. Yang shoved herself up with the force of every hit this lunatic had landed so far on top of Nora's grenade and planted her feet under her before she twisted to face the other way,resulting in just absolutely way way too much hair pulling but also putting her inside Bad Yang's guard as she lashed to snag that Yang's collar bone with one hand and the bicep of the hand not currently MAKING HER INCREDIBLY FILLED WITH RAGE BY DRAGGING HER BY HER FREAKING HAIR, and rather than use her built up strength to just hit her back and return that strength to sender like the world's dumbest game of telephone if she did have the same semblence, She pulled, hard, her intent to completely dislocate the woman's shoulder

"-OR YOU'RE WAY TOO STUPID TO BE WEARING THAT FACE!"

There was a loud and frankly disgusting sounding crack as Yang accomplished exactly what she set out to do, dislocating the shit out of that shoulder. But there was no cry of pain that came from her dark counterpart and if anything, she only looked even more excited after that. A wide grin spread from ear to ear. While her good counterpart had a tight grip on her, that also meant she was in the ideal spot to have just as solid a grip on the other. Both hands clutched as tightly as possible. "Too stupid? I wouldn't be so sure." And while both stood there in each other's grips, the smaller bruiser was already riding her hammer back this way, with Ren doing what he could to keep both Hazel and Roman distracted and away from Nora. Once within range, Magnhild came down in a ferociously powerful blow yet equally precise blow to slam into the good Yang's skull.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

She sounded way too delighted for someone who was sporting a black eye that made her aura glow as it healed. the grin showed some teeth, and her next block was carried the momentum of Eve's strike as she let go at the same time it extended into spear form, the weapon spinning around the back of her neck before a flick of semblance pulled the trigger to make it rocket at Eve like a javelin at the same time Pyrrha used her shield to bat Eve's impromptu weapon aside.

"You figured it out! It usually takes people longer! Maybe this really will be a fight worth having!"

Eve was getting really goddamn tired of all these gleeful gladiators and the happy-go-lucky smiles they kept facing her with. Her own grin was equally as much a taunting snarl, putting everything she had into the high-speeds clash as the beam was wielded like a kendo stick with no less prowess than she exerted over Wilt. But she had to admit; she was wrong. The human was good. Maybe even the best technique she'd ever faced. With such high levels of mastery in their respective forms of combat it certainly made for a fascinating clash of styles fit for an arena, gladiatorial strategy well matched against her iaijutsu's speed and precision.

The problem was that at the end of the day what she was holding was a stick, and with seemingly nary a gap to be seen in either of their fighting styles that was inevitably gonna let her down sooner or later. So there was, naturally, a second phase to this offensive of hers.

As they neared the tail-end of the first proper exchange of the night, neither warrior had given an inch, and in the same exact instant Pyrrha's spear swung back around her shoulders Eve snatched Wilt out of the air right as its descent brought it in reach, a burst of sparks and a shiiiing that lingered in the ear marking the weapon's collision with the javelin to parry it aside enough for Eve to sidestep. Just like that, her offense appeared to double in furious intensity, grip on the beam having subtly shifted to start wielding it as a substitute for Blush instead as both it and Wilt swung in for Pyrrha's neck in a scissor slash, Eve's hair, mask and clothing beginning to flare up that demonic red again. She took a step forward and poured her entire being into advancing on the Mistralian champion's position, bent on using the stick to keep Pyrrha on her toes enough that precise weapon manipulation was impossible in the heat of the struggle.

"A murderous cultist who's nice. You humans are a riot."

Blake suddenly cupped her hands to her ears in a downright girlish whimper of shocked pain

It was subtle, but Eve's attention suddenly appeared to divide in the midst of the flurry, one or two strikes not landing with quite the same level of technique and precision as her gaze flicked past Pyrrha for a split second.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

There was a loud and frankly disgusting sounding crack as Yang accomplished exactly what she set out to do, dislocating the shit out of that shoulder. But there was no cry of pain that came from her dark counterpart and if anything, she only looked even more excited after that. A wide grin spread from ear to ear. While her good counterpart had a tight grip on her, that also meant she was in the ideal spot to have just as solid a grip on the other. Both hands clutched as tightly as possible. "Too stupid? I wouldn't be so sure." And while both stood there in each other's grips, the smaller bruiser was already riding her hammer back this way, with Ren doing what he could to keep both Hazel and Roman distracted and away from Nora. Once within range, Magnhild came down in a ferociously powerful blow yet equally precise blow to slam into the good Yang's skull.

And about a second before impact was the point two metal-clad boots thrust downwards to spike Nora's skull into the dirt, hard enough to send out a shockwave and gouge a deep crater. The pint-sized titan's sprint for Yang had itself been the recipient of another breakneck charge across the battlefield, courtesy of someone with a lot of frustration to work out who'd found himself without a dance partner he could really sink his teeth into this entire fight. As pissed as he had been, he hadn't really been able to dish out even a fraction of the violence he wanted to on Vernal.

With regards to Nora, that meant he was all hers. A secondary KABLAM echoed as both heels unleashed their shells, digging an even deeper crater—and Nora's head—further into the earth, in contrast to a Mercury who went soaring to skid and stop a short distance away, boots digging tracks across the dirt.

"I mean, if the blonde wig fits..."​

 

[MidwayLives]

Her wary, judgemental glare hid whatever other emotions were hiding underneath, and her glance went up and down her form as she really took a moment to look over what this girl was wearing. She twirled hush back off her shoulder to plant on the ground perpendicular to it, where it shimmered with illusion to become.... a stripper pole. Neo gestured at it with her other hand and a dull frown in a silent ask if her with the sluttier fashion sense wanted to take a spin on what seemed to be her natural habitat.

The smug smile she'd been wearing stayed there for a moment as she prepared for battle...and...it slowly started to...

"*annoyed huff!*"

Just because she was proud of her body that made her a stripper??! Had she truly been such a judgmental little bitch when she was younger? Looking down her nose at her other, Neo sniffed and gesturing to her modest bosom dismissed her doppleganger with a rather lewd hand motion and an irritable gesture to her counterpart's chest. Give it a couple more years and maybe you'll come close to looking as good as this, honey.

Not fucking likely.

Normally, Neo enjoyed things like this. Taunting was part of the fun! Well, that and murder but y'know. Having her looks dissed by a bratty goody two-shoes version of herself really pissed her off. She'd seen the looks that this Neo had been giving her everytime she saw her with this world's Roman. It was a nice cocktail of jealously and hatred. Using her semblance, she turned Hush into an illusion of none other than this Neo's roman, the one she planned to take for her own. Ozpin's plans or Salem's plans be damned. Neo didn't care for either of them. Gesturing to her lips and then to 'Roman', 'he leaned down and seemed to kiss her right on the lips before shattering as Hush fell back into her hands. Roman HAD been worrying about this Neo/wanting to get her over to his side, who's to say they didn't share a brief kiss in the passion of battle?~

Neo knew how much this other her despised her. The very idea of her and Roman(whom'd already confessed his love to his Neo and the two had been lefti n something of awkward limbo since then)swapping spit probably made her want to wretch. But then who could blame Roman? She was obviously the better one!~ Willing to do what needs to be done and looked damn good while she did it~

Taking Roman's first kiss was just the cherry on top!~

...But really, was she seriously going to let some high school level slut shaming get in her way?! She wanted to KILL this bitch!​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

There was a loud and frankly disgusting sounding crack as Yang accomplished exactly what she set out to do, dislocating the shit out of that shoulder. But there was no cry of pain that came from her dark counterpart and if anything, she only looked even more excited after that. A wide grin spread from ear to ear. While her good counterpart had a tight grip on her, that also meant she was in the ideal spot to have just as solid a grip on the other. Both hands clutched as tightly as possible. "Too stupid? I wouldn't be so sure." And while both stood there in each other's grips, the smaller bruiser was already riding her hammer back this way, with Ren doing what he could to keep both Hazel and Roman distracted and away from Nora. Once within range, Magnhild came down in a ferociously powerful blow yet equally precise blow to slam into the good Yang's skull.​

Her eyes narrowed before they shot wide open, a combination of the implications and her aura warning her of the oncoming strike, but she found herself on the recieving end of trying to move a a Yang who absolutely did not want to move, and in the moment she had before that hammer absolutely splattered her, she thought she understood why so many people seemed to not like her. Her head tried to turn towards Nora with a look of panic

And about a second before impact was the point two metal-clad boots thrust downwards to spike Nora's skull into the dirt, hard enough to send out a shockwave and gouge a deep crater. The pint-sized titan's sprint for Yang had itself been the recipient of another breakneck charge across the battlefield, courtesy of someone with a lot of frustration to work out who'd found himself without a dance partner he could really sink his teeth into this entire fight. As pissed as he had been, he hadn't really been able to dish out even a fraction of the violence he wanted to on Vernal.

With regards to Nora, that meant he was all hers. A secondary KABLAM echoed as both heels unleashed their shells, digging an even deeper crater—and Nora's head—further into the earth, in contrast to a Mercury who went soaring to skid and stop a short distance away, boots digging tracks across the dirt.

"I mean, if the blonde wig fits..."​

"..."

Her gaze swung back towards the other Yang as Nora found herself on the wrong end of MTEN's leader, and if humanity on the whole thought it had, at any point before this in its history, reached the pinnacle of a shit-eating grin, Yang topped it in that moment. She didn't even register the blonde comment.

"Oohohohoho buddy. You are so screwed."



Yang's fists both arced down in rapid succession to slam into Yangry's gut with a pair of gunshots before she followed it up with ballistics enhanced uppercut, before she snatched her leg before she flew up too far to swing in a wild slam back down to the floor. Her followup was inadvertently mirroring her partner's double as she rushed forward to follow the bounce with another flurry of blows in an absolutely relentless rush, determined not to give the other Yang even a second to reset her shoulder. If you asked her if she enjoyed turning the tables on this other Yang who's biggest put down had been the loss of her arm by utterly abusing the fact that she could only use one arm herself now, she wouldn't even vaguely try to deny it.

"WHO!"

*BANG BANG, BANGBANGBANG*

"SAYS FRIENDS!"

*BANGBANGBANGBANG BANG*

"ARE!"

*BANGBANG*

"A WEAKNESS!"

*beepbeepbeep*

"NOW!"

*beepbeepbeepbeep*

"YOU FREAKING!"

*beepbeepbeep*

"CULTIST!"

*beepbeepbeep *

"PUNK!"

*beepbeepbeepbeeep*

The barrage finally stopped, and Yang's let her last punches momentum carry the other Yang away from her as she slowly drew her fist back to a a rest position. She dusted her hands off, let one of them rest against her hip, and pointed the other at her double as she once more busted out her most lethal of weapons; the finger gun. If this Yang did have her semblance, right here was where she'd be most dangerous. Yang had just hand (or more accurately fist) delivered her enough energy to probably lay her out in one punch, along with anyone unlucky enough to be anywhere a hundred feet behind her. but regardless of whether Yang stumbled to her feet, rolled up and immediately charged, or tried to flee, Yang did the same thing; flicked her wrist like she was firing the gun

"Bang"

*Click*

All the charges she'd set in the back end of the barrage went off at once, the other Yang blasted by a dozen explosives attached directly to her ugly mug. She'd be prettier if she smiled more : |

 

[Indolent]

Ren doing what he could to keep both Hazel and Roman distracted and away from Nora.​

Hazel was familiar with the nuanced runnel rimming the inner circumference of Magnhild's face, the intricate etchings inlaid in and beyond, and the barrel where the grenade shells exited. He'd been on the receiving end of it back in Beacon and it was the selfsame weapon that had very much left him in a precarious state courtesy of the building its wielder caused to collapse atop him. Medical personnel had mentioned, if it'd been anyone else they'd have likely died from from their wounds, the rubble their makeshift grave. Assuming they survived the hammer firstly. If he was able to feel pain, he would be dead certain that would have been the single most memorable thing about it all but it wasn't so. Instead he remembered vividly the jarring impact, the hardest he'd ever been hit in his life, well being bodyslammed by a Maiden aside. It was to such an extent it was as if someone clasped his head and rattled it like a snowglobe.

Only the globe nearly shattered.

The same weapon struck him again, akin to the fabled Mjolnir felling a frost giant, with his body streaking afar before landing atop an unfortunate entity amid the fighting. The flare of his aura had been intense but the blow wasn't enough to shatter his aura. Not entirely. His body turned over to supine position, his arms folding out to lift himself up to standing. The stony exterior of his right originating from the orange dust crystals embedded in his forearms was shattered, swathes gone with new slowly rising in place as if under a tectonic shift. The feeling in his fingers were beginning to return. An angry grunt was really all one expected from Hazel, as he lumbered back into the fray where he watched the exchange between the two Yangs and MTEN's leader vs Nora. The opponent of the latter's implacable bodyguard would bar their way, Hazel trudging up aside Roman with a sneer that failed to convey his distaste for it all adequately. Wont as he was to exercise his consummate honesty, he would have not liked admitting that he desired catharsis by returning the favor with Valkyrie. He supposed Ren would have to make do as a secondhand method, even though he knew he was liable to be a more difficult opponent.

Roman would catch a curt nod, with the lowering of Hazel's brows as if it were an unspoken expectation he'd be covered, before he stepped out with both arms swinging back as he bellowed his challenge.

Come get these titties

Hazel lunged forward then, slamming his arms together with the fists balled before he levered both perpendicularly to the ground, jettisoning forward in a downswing a maelstrom of electrically-infused stalagmites. His bent knees led to a plunging leap on the heels of the projectiles, his right arm poised for a straight punch in anticipation of Ren's evasive maneuver.

 

[MyrtenRose]

And about a second before impact was the point two metal-clad boots thrust downwards to spike Nora's skull into the dirt, hard enough to send out a shockwave and gouge a deep crater. The pint-sized titan's sprint for Yang had itself been the recipient of another breakneck charge across the battlefield, courtesy of someone with a lot of frustration to work out who'd found himself without a dance partner he could really sink his teeth into this entire fight. As pissed as he had been, he hadn't really been able to dish out even a fraction of the violence he wanted to on Vernal.

With regards to Nora, that meant he was all hers. A secondary KABLAM echoed as both heels unleashed their shells, digging an even deeper crater—and Nora's head—further into the earth, in contrast to a Mercury who went soaring to skid and stop a short distance away, boots digging tracks across the dirt.

"I mean, if the blonde wig fits..."​

...Seriously? Another one?!

Nora hadn't seen fit to instantly pull her head back and jump to her feet again, instead seemingly fine with taking a couple seconds to grumble quiet cursing into the dirt about how they seemed to be coming out of the damn woodwork. One after another after another. Who was gonna be next, huh? There was only one way to find out. One clenched fist punched into the ground angrily, followed immediately by the other before Nora finally pushed herself back up. She glared daggers at Mercury even as her boot moved to kick Magnhild up into her grip. Sparks of lightning raced across her arms. "I wouldn't be too quick to call someone else stupid. I mean, yeah, she isn't the sharpest tool in the shed..." Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "...but she's far from the only one making incredibly stupid decisions." She said no more before she pushed off the ground and hurtled herself through the air, intending to slam Mercury into the dirt even further than he had just done with her, via one heavy overhead blow from Magnhild. So much power was behind it that even if she missed, the shockwave that followed was enough to knock him off his feet.
​

"..."

Her gaze swung back towards the other Yang as Nora found herself on the wrong end of MTEN's leader, and if humanity on the whole thought it had, at any point before this in its history, reached the pinnacle of a shit-eating grin, Yang topped it in that moment. She didn't even register the blonde comment.

"Oohohohoho buddy. You are so screwed."

There was no understating how satisfying it must have felt to see the grin so immediately leave her other's face, so quickly gone that it almost seemed the two Yangs had just thrown the wide smile from one to the other in an unusual game of hot potato.​

Yang's fists both arced down in rapid succession to slam into Yangry's gut with a pair of gunshots before she followed it up with ballistics enhanced uppercut, before she snatched her leg before she flew up too far to swing in a wild slam back down to the floor. Her followup was inadvertently mirroring her partner's double as she rushed forward to follow the bounce with another flurry of blows in an absolutely relentless rush, determined not to give the other Yang even a second to reset her shoulder. If you asked her if she enjoyed turning the tables on this other Yang who's biggest put down had been the loss of her arm by utterly abusing the fact that she could only use one arm herself now, she wouldn't even vaguely try to deny it.

"WHO!"

*BANG BANG, BANGBANGBANG*

"SAYS FRIENDS!"

*BANGBANGBANGBANG BANG*

"ARE!"

*BANGBANG*

"A WEAKNESS!"

*beepbeepbeep*

"NOW!"

*beepbeepbeepbeep*

"YOU FREAKING!"

*beepbeepbeep*

"CULTIST!"

*beepbeepbeep *

"PUNK!"

*beepbeepbeepbeeep*

The dislocated shoulder and her shocked surprise were pretty big advantages to the good Yang who found that her barrage of blows hit home each and every time, any semblance of defense or counter-attacking nothing but a pipe dream in that moment. Her dark counterpart staggered back with every blow, the sheer aggression too much for the other to even speak throughout that assault. In fact even any pained grunts were cut off as one Yang kept pressing forward and the other stumbled back. When it was finally over, the Yang that had espoused the weakness of friends lifted her head to glance at her doppelganger as she tried to determine whether a follow up attack was incoming--​

The barrage finally stopped, and Yang's let her last punches momentum carry the other Yang away from her as she slowly drew her fist back to a a rest position. She dusted her hands off, let one of them rest against her hip, and pointed the other at her double as she once more busted out her most lethal of weapons; the finger gun. If this Yang did have her semblance, right here was where she'd be most dangerous. Yang had just hand (or more accurately fist) delivered her enough energy to probably lay her out in one punch, along with anyone unlucky enough to be anywhere a hundred feet behind her. but regardless of whether Yang stumbled to her feet, rolled up and immediately charged, or tried to flee, Yang did the same thing; flicked her wrist like she was firing the gun

...Yes was the answer to that unspoken question. The blast engulfed Yang completely, the fiery burst and the smoke that followed more than enough to obscure the spot Yang was standing in. In fact it did so for well close to a minute, none of the others around able to see past the thick smoke to judge how well that worked until it finally cleared. When it did?

It revealed a Yang still standing, albeit obviously injured. Burns were scattered across her skin, blood was flowing near one of her eyes and her shoulder was obviously still dislocated...but her hair was glowing intensely bright as she glared dangerously at her counterpart. But more than that, there was a Jaune by her shoulder who had not been there before, one hand resting on her and equally glowing as evil Yang slammed her opposite shoulder back into place with a grunt. "I did." Yang growled. "I was the one who said that, and I'm still right on that. But friends? That's not the same thing as allies." The second she spat that word at her counterpart, she lunged through the air at her good double, fueled by both all the damage she had just taken on the chin as well as how much had Jaune supercharged her aura and ABSOLUTELY intent to repay each and every blow she'd just endured, her onslaught far more aggressive and powerful than her double's had been.
​

Hazel lunged forward then, slamming his arms together with the fists balled before he levered both perpendicularly to the ground, jettisoning forward in a downswing a maelstrom of electrically-infused stalagmites. His bent knees led to a plunging leap on the heels of the projectiles, his right arm poised for a straight punch in anticipation of Ren's evasive maneuver.

"..." Ren did his best to neatly evade every one of those projectiles, sliding around them with incredible dexterity and grace...but it only left him wide open for that fist that hit him like a 16 wheeler, sending the silent enforcer rocketing back and bouncing off the ground a few times. When he came to a stop, he was down for so long that it seemed that one blow had been enough, but eventually Ren pulled himself together enough to clamber back to his feet and open fire with both his guns, knowing that any chance of victory meant keeping his distance.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

...Seriously? Another one?!

Nora hadn't seen fit to instantly pull her head back and jump to her feet again, instead seemingly fine with taking a couple seconds to grumble quiet cursing into the dirt about how they seemed to be coming out of the damn woodwork. One after another after another. Who was gonna be next, huh? There was only one way to find out. One clenched fist punched into the ground angrily, followed immediately by the other before Nora finally pushed herself back up. She glared daggers at Mercury even as her boot moved to kick Magnhild up into her grip. Sparks of lightning raced across her arms. "I wouldn't be too quick to call someone else stupid. I mean, yeah, she isn't the sharpest tool in the shed..." Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "...but she's far from the only one making incredibly stupid decisions." She said no more before she pushed off the ground and hurtled herself through the air, intending to slam Mercury into the dirt even further than he had just done with her, via one heavy overhead blow from Magnhild. So much power was behind it that even if she missed, the shockwave that followed was enough to knock him off his feet.

Mercury leaped back to avoid it, crossing his arms in an x and raising both legs to guard against the shockwave as he was pushed well back from the impact. MTEN's leader was already shifting his feet to a new stance when they skidded to a halt some distance away, hands held up in preparation and eyes narrowed with intense focus to track the criminal's movements to the best of his ab- was that a bird. Mercury took a wild guess at what was about to happen and shrugged his shoulders lightly.

"Guess there's a lotta that going around."

"Stupid DECISIONS?!"

Then it wasn't a bird, it was a guy.

"STUPID DECISIONS?!"

Every aura-honed instinct Nora had suddenly blared, telling her to forget Mercury and guard her left flank against a far more high-velocity attack as if she did something battered Magnhild's handle with more than enough downward force that the swing drove it back in her grip. Qrow bared his teeth, crimson eyes like burning coal even as the shockwave from the attack sliced through a corner of a building further away. Nora's eyes only had a moment to process her assailant, and more notably the weapon he was bringing to bear against her, an anomaly in itself considering Valkyrie's complete annihilation of it just a short time ago.

Harbinger's blade folded, and as it did two barrels slid out to point right past Magnhild and level Nora dead in the face before both exploded, the recoil sending Qrow back several feet even as he spun the sword back behind his hip and pointed the tip at her with a threatening growl.

"Let's find out who made the stupidest decision today, runt. Maybe we'll even top your mom and dad forgetting to use protection."



"Okay, well I'm gonna go hit this guy."

Barely a moment later, Jaune had his own issues to deal with as Mercury's foot came bearing down like a falling guillotine for his crown.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

Mercury leaped back to avoid it, crossing his arms in an x and raising both legs to guard against the shockwave as he was pushed well back from the impact. MTEN's leader was already shifting his feet to a new stance when they skidded to a halt some distance away, hands held up in preparation and eyes narrowed with intense focus to track the criminal's movements to the best of his ab- was that a bird. Mercury took a wild guess at what was about to happen and shrugged his shoulders lightly.

"Guess there's a lotta that going around."

"Stupid DECISIONS?!"

Then it wasn't a bird, it was a guy.

"STUPID DECISIONS?!"

Every aura-honed instinct Nora had suddenly blared, telling her to forget Mercury and guard her left flank against a far more high-velocity attack as if she did something battered Magnhild's handle with more than enough downward force that the swing drove it back in her grip. Qrow bared his teeth, crimson eyes like burning coal even as the shockwave from the attack sliced through a corner of a building further away. Nora's eyes only had a moment to process her assailant, and more notably the weapon he was bringing to bear against her, an anomaly in itself considering Valkyrie's complete annihilation of it just a short time ago.

Harbinger's blade folded, and as it did two barrels slid out to point right past Magnhild and level Nora dead in the face before both exploded, the recoil sending Qrow back several feet even as he spun the sword back behind his hip and pointed the tip at her with a threatening growl.

"Let's find out who made the stupidest decision today, runt. Maybe we'll even top your mom and dad forgetting to use protection."

"Okay, well I'm gonna go hit this guy."

Barely a moment later, Jaune had his own issues to deal with as Mercury's foot came bearing down like a falling guillotine for his crown.​

"A lotta that going around? What are you getting at--"

Nora's head suddenly snapped to the side, only just able to move her hammer into defensive position in the split-second before a swing of a giant blade pushed it down. Hell, had it not been the small bruiser that was targeted, Nora reckoned the strength behind that blow would have been enough to force just about anybody else to their knees. As it was, she managed to keep solid footing, the amount of electricity sparking around her increasing as she started to push back--

The point-blank shots at her face put a stop to that. The criminal was knocked back, boots grinding against the ground until she came to a halt several feet back as well. "How did you...where did you get that, you couldn't have repaired it that quickly...not after I broke it into pieces like that..." She let that all out, her motor mouth doing its best to keep up with her racing thoughts and make them known. That only ceased when realization gleamed in her briefly widened eyes before settling in a disappointed look. "Wow, you completely useless drunk barbarian. That must be why you live out in the wilderness like a savage. So not many people know how badly you suck." Nora shook her head. Someone definitely wasn't getting anything close to what she'd offered.

But as frustrated as she looked then, that expression paled in comparison to the raging hate that revealed itself when Qrow growled about her parents. "You..." She began to hiss, painful reminders of her youth brought up to the forefront of her mind. "You...you dare?!" She sprinted forward in a mad dash for the professional huntsman. "YOU WANT ME TO BREAK YOUR WEAPON AGAIN THAT BADLY?! FINE WITH ME!!" Her hammer swung forth in a series of powerful blows.

Jaune barely got his shield up in time to block that downward kick. The swings of his blade in counterattack stood out to the sharp analytical mind of his opponent. The moves weren't quite basic, but they definitely showed a skill that was lesser than any of his allies currently around this part of the field.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"A lotta that going around? What are you getting at--"

Nora's head suddenly snapped to the side, only just able to move her hammer into defensive position in the split-second before a swing of a giant blade pushed it down. Hell, had it not been the small bruiser that was targeted, Nora reckoned the strength behind that blow would have been enough to force just about anybody else to their knees. As it was, she managed to keep solid footing, the amount of electricity sparking around her increasing as she started to push back--

The point-blank shots at her face put a stop to that. The criminal was knocked back, boots grinding against the ground until she came to a halt several feet back as well. "How did you...where did you get that, you couldn't have repaired it that quickly...not after I broke it into pieces like that..." She let that all out, her motor mouth doing its best to keep up with her racing thoughts and make them known. That only ceased when realization gleamed in her briefly widened eyes before settling in a disappointed look. "Wow, you completely useless drunk barbarian. That must be why you live out in the wilderness like a savage. So not many people know how badly you suck." Nora shook her head. Someone definitely wasn't getting anything close to what she'd offered.

But as frustrated as she looked then, that expression paled in comparison to the raging hate that revealed itself when Qrow growled about her parents. "You..." She began to hiss, painful reminders of her youth brought up to the forefront of her mind. "You...you dare?!" She sprinted forward in a mad dash for the professional huntsman. "YOU WANT ME TO BREAK YOUR WEAPON AGAIN THAT BADLY?! FINE WITH ME!!" Her hammer swung forth in a series of powerful blows.

Jaune barely got his shield up in time to block that downward kick. The swings of his blade in counterattack stood out to the sharp analytical mind of his opponent. The moves weren't quite basic, but they definitely showed a skill that was lesser than any of his allies currently around this part of the field.

Qrow couldn't hide the look of contemptuous smugness at her confusion, tilting his head with an inciting smirk. "Don't look so distraught. My Harbinger had all sorts of cool upgrades over this rusty piece of crap. Too bad for you, all I need's the basics to collect on the bill you owe me."

When Nora charged, that smirk broke out into a full-on devil may care grin with a hint of savagery as Harbinger spun up to intercept the hammer in a whirlwind of glancing blows, parries and deflections landed with just enough force to throw off Magnhild's sweeping trajectories for him to sidestep or leap over them with his wiry frame. It was a furious clash, this Valkyrie experienced well beyond the years of the one Qrow new, and it showed. Had he been using Harbinger as a scythe it would've been blow for blow.

In its sword configuration, he had the faster swing time, fancier footwork, and—if it wasn't too presumptuous of him to speculate—way more style to bring to bear against Nora's power advantage, plus a little extra factor that was impossible to predict. When Nora stepped forward for another swing, she found her foot snagged by Qrow's own boot pressing down on it, and in the ensuing stumble Harbinger whirled around the grizzled huntsman's grip like a helicopter blade to snag the hammer's handle on its corner. This left both barrels extended towards Nora's gut, and both unloaded again with another echoing gunshot in an effort to part the crime lord from her weapon and send her flying back once more.

"Break my weapon? Kid, I'm not even gonna break a sweat."​

 

[Gus Gungus]

Mercury, in the meantime, emptied both barrels into the shield to spring off and drive Jaune back, landing a short range enough and cracking his neck with a thoroughly unimpressed expression.

"Look dude, we both know I'm gonna kick your ass. Sure you don't wanna take this chance to run away?"

 

[MyrtenRose]

Mercury, in the meantime, emptied both barrels into the shield to spring off and drive Jaune back, landing a short range enough and cracking his neck with a thoroughly unimpressed expression.

"Look dude, we both know I'm gonna kick your ass. Sure you don't wanna take this chance to run away?"

"...no." He said, but the look on his face contradicted that answer. He looked like he desperately wished that was an option, but...his mind flashed back to the horrors and pain he endured in some dark corner of the labyrinthian Evernight Castle, once Ozpin had whisked him away. That had been for nothing more than inaction, standing by and doing nothing more than videotaping the events at Beacon. If he actually tried to flee? He couldn't imagine(and really didn't want to) the punishment that he'd suffer. "...I can't." He rushed Mercury after that, swinging Crocea Mors as fast as he could.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

Qrow couldn't hide the look of contemptuous smugness at her confusion, tilting his head with an inciting smirk. "Don't look so distraught. My Harbinger had all sorts of cool upgrades over this rusty piece of crap. Too bad for you, all I need's the basics to collect on the bill you owe me."

When Nora charged, that smirk broke out into a full-on devil may care grin with a hint of savagery as Harbinger spun up to intercept the hammer in a whirlwind of glancing blows, parries and deflections landed with just enough force to throw off Magnhild's sweeping trajectories for him to sidestep or leap over them with his wiry frame. It was a furious clash, this Valkyrie experienced well beyond the years of the one Qrow new, and it showed. Had he been using Harbinger as a scythe it would've been blow for blow.

In its sword configuration, he had the faster swing time, fancier footwork, and—if it wasn't too presumptuous of him to speculate—way more style to bring to bear against Nora's power advantage, plus a little extra factor that was impossible to predict. When Nora stepped forward for another swing, she found her foot snagged by Qrow's own boot pressing down on it, and in the ensuing stumble Harbinger whirled around the grizzled huntsman's grip like a helicopter blade to snag the hammer's handle on its corner. This left both barrels extended towards Nora's gut, and both unloaded again with another echoing gunshot in an effort to part the crime lord from her weapon and send her flying back once more.

"Break my weapon? Kid, I'm not even gonna break a sweat."​

When Nora skidded to a halt a fair distance away, now sans weapon thanks to that gunshot and some solid bladework, the glower on her face was as scathing as it could get. "Awful lot of cockiness for a guy who not so long ago had been stuffed away in some broom closet or wherever the hell that coward had stuck you." Valkyrie briefly tore her gaze away from him and peered down at her gloved hands. The pair slowly clenched as she lifted her head back up. Little crackles of electricity didn't simply spark around her this time. No, whole bolts of lightning flared up all around her body, Nora willing as much power as her veins could possibly contain to flow into her, increasing her strength to its absolute max limit. Even her normally aqua eyes glowed a harsh shade of pinkish-purple that matched the lightning.

In an instant she pushed off the ground and charged Qrow, forgoing the use of her Magnhild in favor of hand to hand. The first punch struck one of the more blunt sides of Harbinger so ferociously that the clang that echoed out sounded no different than one weapon meeting another and sent ringing vibrations shooting up the arm that held the sword. Her other hand quickly followed up to grab the blade and push it to the side to free her up for a series of bareknuckle blows, aimed at his face, his stomach, his kidneys, wherever the hell she could hit.​