Fandom Distorted Mirror [IC]

[Indolent]

Between all their efforts, he... actually didn't make it through the portal in time, stranding him here. Had it not been for one, particular factor, it wouldn't have been enough.

Emerald would have been more than exhilarated at her seeming success, only for working to make sure the way home for the thief was secured. Except for this one thing.

It wasn't quite the reaction Emerald was expecting, Carnelian skidding to a halt with an angered grunt as he clutched one side of his head in pain, the gyros in his eye whirring frantically while they tried to parse whatever havoc Emerald's semblance was wreaking.

Then all light, sensation and sound faded, and Emerald saw something in her mind's eye.

The room was black, his eyes cold and yet somehow burning with pure and utter contempt. They glowed red in the darkness, flaring in waves that intensified what little light there was to break the gloom, sent the shadows slithering and rolling in all kinds of shapes painting all sorts of grisly scenes, memories of victories and conquests past. Some of them were screaming. A faint tune from a music box was playing, albeit one that sounded warped and distorted, as did the cacophony of babies crying that all seemed to assail her ears at once. In the shadows behind the man something stirred, something beyond the endless shadow and suffering around her, something with a defined form, teeth that frothed and ground together, and a growl that shook the 'room'.

And then came the retaliation, the man flickering a few times like static on a television before he appeared suddenly before her, never having moved his legs or raised his arms. Until now, grip tight and crushing as it lashed out around her forehead, and the moment that contact was made Emerald felt a pain that set her nerves on fire as the general violently, telepathically ejected her from his mind, his own grasp of the subconscious deeper and more disturbing than hers could ever hope to be.

Things weren't any better on the outside, though less than a second had passed. The sight that awaited her when she came to her senses was Carnelian himself, in the flesh this time, and compared to his mind's avatar he looked furious. There was nothing psionic or metaphysical about the grip that seized her throat, nor the pain she felt slam into her back as the general used her as a battering ram to tear straight through the wall and out into the night.

Relic and all.

Emerald Sustrai had always thought she'd seen the worst the world had to offer from the very beginning. Abandoned by whatever passed for family, she lived day to day surviving off whatever scraps she found while under scrutiny of those who deemed themselves her betters, deemed her among the destitute. Naught but dregs to be ridiculed and stigmatized for circumstances beyond her control. So formed the core of her cynical, pragmatic outlook on life, up to the point where she unlocked her semblance and sought to carve out a better life for her own through thievery and scamming. Until she met Cinder, the light in her life that made her realize possibilities never before even thought of, a burgeoning sense of hope and duty. It was through this meeting of chance a commitment was born, to repay her awakening with seeing through whatever Cinder endeavored to.

Even if it meant a deal with the devil in the form of Salem, bearing witness to the horrors within the confines of Evernight Castle, nightmares that made her experience and trauma seem benign side by side. A very informing experience, subtly shifting her views to considering those people she encountered, suffered under, mild next to the vile atrocities birthed there in the Land of Darkness, that was she was fortunate to be with Cinder on the right side of all things. The side that was slowly but surely winning this secret war on Remnant. She would be spared these things to be unleashed, survive as a part of whatever plan Cinder had, while apathetic to the plights of those people that would surely perish. Her misanthropy was inset her personality wholly though there were moments here and there that tested her, her faith and loyalty in Cinder, and if she even so insomuch as faltered, that would have been the end of her. It'd have to be worth it in the end. So she thought, tried to convince herself.

But here, in this very moment. Within this dark mindscape she realized, or sparked the tiniest burgeoning of a realization in her very soul, that she was oh so very wrong. The evils that she witnessed was so very insidious, so pure that surely only it could stem from the antithesis of the light, within these demon Grimm and their maker. That people, human and faunus alike, were petty in comparison, even the likes of the prolific serial killer that was Tyrian Callows looked infinitesimal in comparison. This man held the reins over the darkness within his mind, honed it to a scapel edge and wielded it side by side the equally honed fury he displayed. The sceneries that formed within the roiling darkness fleetingly before dissipating, Emerald realized, were this man's memories, a testament to his storied history, compounded by the eerie music box and the wails of infants. Of what he'd done and what he would do in whatever time remained for him. All of it suffused into her mind, a gradual growth that threatened to break her asunder if she failed to hold herself together and it was the least that transpired. A flicker and he was in front of her, the room shuddering in a growl as she felt everything. Then he reached for her...

Everything turned a flaring brightness, a white-hot pain radiating through her neurons, the synapses feeling as if they immolated just from the transmissions alone. Her power was never truly that of manipulation over someone's mind, not to the same extent as he had his own. It was more an influence, injections of ideas, subtle or otherwise changes to their internal reflections... his transcended that with the total control of it. Of his own at the very least. Her mouth opened to scream but nothing came, all that remained was the glaring red of the man's eyes etched in her memory. A monster in a man's skin, no more or no less. A terror that lurked within the ranks of humanity on par, no, exceeding her previous ascertations. An experience that felt as if it lasted longer than it truly did, the relativity of time so skewed that long was short within reality and in the next instant, she awoke thinking she was free of that nightmare. Only to find it was beginning, the General's singular bionic eye eliciting a shocked gasp as he gripped her throat and barreled her through the wall.

Gone from her mind was her agenda of keeping the relic safe, instead it was the primal need to survive as she screeched, flailed within his grasp in a wild abandon as one half of Thieve's Respite retracted to their revolver form with the other's blade extended. Haphazard slashes of the man's flank and stomach was attempted with the awkward manipulation of the gun to fire for the center mass or thereabouts, all in tandem with heavy thrashing kicks and biting if she could even gain purchase with her teeth. She wanted nothing to do with him and she was not going to lay down to die at his behest. She didn't even so much think the others would help her, the cynic thought prompting her to redouble her efforts, her very intent for survival.

 

[MidwayLives]

His propulsion for Tyrian was so sudden and direct it was hard to imagine he was actually going for Tyrian until he was right before him, his bullets having been expertly deflected by the blades spinning around his grasp. A sword swung in, but rather than slash ineffectively off his aura he dug the hilt into the faunus's already-bandaged side, letting blunt trauma reopen the wound there and viciously twisting his grip before he shoulder checked him and disengaged, back to his flurry with Tock when she presumably followed.

'He's so fast...I..'

Tyrian barely had any time to react since Carneilan had closed the distance between them. His breathing hitched and he-

"AAAAGHHHHHH!!!!"

Tyrian's screamed echoed throughout Tock's home. He took a step forward, clutching at his wound. The bandages were starting to turn red and the pain running through him from just that one blow would have toppled any other man. It felt as though a dozen needles were being stabbed into that spot all at once.

*THWACK*

Tyrian crashed to the ground in a heap after the shoulder to the face. His wound had reopened and his thoughts were racing a mile a minute.

They all came to the same conclusion

....That he was simply scared.

'How can we beat someone like this?' 'We have to! He's caused so much suffering!' 'He's ruined so many lives.'

'We have to kill him.'

'Kill him' 'Make him suffer just like those faunus did.' 'It's a crime that someone like him is alive and Ichabod isn't.'

Tyrian lay on the floor, trapped among his own thoughts. The voices had come back but this time it felt almost comforting. He wasn't alone in his pain and his fear. He knew that he couldn't simply lay here as tempting as it might have been. The pain racking his body was intense and for a moment or two, he swore he was going to pass out from it. Digging the blades of his weapon into the ground, he pushed himself up to his knees even as beads of sweat rolled off his forehead and onto the floorboards below. His breathing had settled into a fragile ryhthm as his entire body seemed to tremble.

That hadn't been a man at all.

It was every bit the monster his parents told him about.
​

Things weren't any better on the outside, though less than a second had passed. The sight that awaited her when she came to her senses was Carnelian himself, in the flesh this time, and compared to his mind's avatar he looked furious. There was nothing psionic or metaphysical about the grip that seized her throat, nor the pain she felt slam into her back as the general used her as a battering ram to tear straight through the wall and out into the night.

Relic and all.

'He's getting away...' 'Are you going to let him...?'

'Can you stop him...?'

The voices didn't know the answer and truthfully neither did Tyrian. He sure wished they'd shut up though. He was in enough pain as it was and laying on the floor wasn't exactly helping.

So many times on this adventure he'd been outclassed and all those times he'd failed to get his comeuppance.

Valkyrie stabbed him with his own tail, the scar on his shoulder was there as proof.

Qrow played with him like a child and cut off his stinger along with a portion of his tail.

He didn't definitively defeat either of them and now he doubted he'd get the chance to.

What was wrong with letting it be three for three?

Pounding his fist onto the floorboard enough to crack it, Tyrian pushed himself up to his feet, his hair a mess and his face scrunched up in pain. His footing was unsteady and he looked as though he'd collapse at any minute. ..Unless you looked into his eyes. They seemed to be full of raw determination. Letting that bastard get away with the relic simply wasn't an option. They had to get the relics and he had to save Cinder. There was no getting around it. Turning towards the hole that Tock and Raven had followed Carneilan out through, Tyrian's tail coiled up and he hopped through the hole.

Landing on his feet with a bit of a stumble, Tyrian raced after them, his brain on auto-pilot. The urges doing their best to sound out his complete and utter fear of the situation and what he'd actually do if he caught up to Carneilan.

'We'll kill him!' 'We'll make him suffer!' 'We'll spill his guts!!'

All colorful thinking but did it represent how the faunus truly felt?

....No.​

 

[MidwayLives]

"..."

A brief moment of concentration disrupted his melee with Tock, before a hand snatched out to close around Neo's face wherever she was really attacking from, no mind paid to any illusory duplicates prone to shattering like glass when struck. Then he threw her the fuck out the window, but the momentary distraction was all Tock needed to finally penetrate his untouchable aura and land a few strikes, the last of which sent him skidding across the room to tumble back into a half-crouch and wipe his lip with a dark smile.

Neo had seen how serious the others here seemed to be taking this fossil and supposed she should have done the same. More or less because he'd somehow gotten her under her nose and she'd be kind of a shitty protector if she didn't try her damndest to keep her otherself safe. She'd get in close and make a couple of hit and run attacks with Hush's blade and then-

...Wait, this wasn't right. This wasn't right at all!!!

Neo's eyes widened as Carneilan's hand wrapped around her mouth as she was lifted off her feet.

She was sure she'd never seen this guy before and yet he'd perfectly reacted to her as if it was child's play. Had he been informed by someone on Ozpin's side about her semblance? No, he reacted way too fast for all his info to simply have been second hand knowledge. He'd bypassed dealing with the illusions and gone for her directly.

...It actually kinda scared her.

Getting hit was occasionally bound to happen. As much as she would have liked to think otherwise, Neo was far from perfect. Hell, she was still proud of herself for managing to practically hold her own against Cinder until she unleashed her maiden powers. She'd even managed to fight alongside her other against the evil version of that Nikos chick. ....Granted, she ate some pretty nasty blows like the javelin to the face that left a welt the size of a grapefruit on her head for a while.

...Yet she'd never felt afraid in any of those encounters.

....This guy was something else. She doubted he had the power of a maiden or the semblance that annoyed the crap out of her like Nikos.

He didn't need either of those things.

Neo let out something of a breathy hiss as she was whipped through the air. Her aura shimmered around her person which was on a colision course to crash right through the window. Falling flat on her back, Neo still had enough mind to open up Hush to try and stop the biggest shards of glass from landing on her. Watching as they crashed onto the ground around her, Neo grit her teeth.

"......gr....."

The fear yielded before the immediate rage that was bottling up within her. To the point that she'd even tried making an effort to speak! Didn't pan out but the anger radiating off her was palpable. Closing Hush up and shaking it free of glass shards, she hopped back onto her feet. Eager to get back into the middle of things-
​

Things weren't any better on the outside, though less than a second had passed. The sight that awaited her when she came to her senses was Carnelian himself, in the flesh this time, and compared to his mind's avatar he looked furious. There was nothing psionic or metaphysical about the grip that seized her throat, nor the pain she felt slam into her back as the general used her as a battering ram to tear straight through the wall and out into the night.

Relic and all.

Emerald!

Having just been through her own taste of defenestration, Neo was in a healthy revenge seeking mood.

She hated that it was soured by what she'd just seen.

Neo didn't particularly see herself as close to any of Salem's other minions. Certainly not Emerald or Mercury who Neo simply equated to be none other than Cinder's lackeys. She'd work with them if the task called for it but her true loyalties were always to whichever side Roman picked. Just so happened that aligned with Cinder's and by proxy Salem's.

Now that Roman was gone and she'd been strongarmed back into the fold, Neo had even less reason to give a damn about Sustrai.

Who would care if she died? Would Mercury care or would Cinder?

....Despite that, Neo couldn't let anything happen to her. The Emerald that had been picked up didn't belong to this world. She just wanted to work with the heroes as least as possible just so they could all get home. But the Mercury and otherself of this world had already lost their Roman. They didn't need to see somebody who resembled one of their remaining teammates suffer some kind of gruesome fate. Readjusting the bowler hat sitting atop her head, Neo sighed.

"*determined huff*"

She shattered...


​

 

[Gus Gungus]

After being bludgeoned through one wall Emerald had only a fleeting moment to appreciate the cooling sensation of the night air on her back before being slammed into another, carving out a small crater in the mountainface as he pinned her by the throat with one arm and pulled his weapon back with the other. A number of bullets and sickle slashes hit their mark, but seemed about as effective as ant stings were at dissuading a charging rhino for all the reaction it provoked.

"You like toying around in people's heads, missy?"

The hilt struck the bridge of her nose, but Emerald would've been forgiven for thinking it was a sledgehammer.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you a man's mind is his castle?"

It struck home again, this time a battering swing across her cheek, and he pulled it back for a third, decisive strike to cap things off. As spiteful as the general was, as much honed and weaponized rage was buffeting Emerald like the winds of a desert sandstorm right now, he never raised his voice or shouted. It wasn't that kind of rage. It was the cold, venom of a disappointed father, the raw, quiet wrath of a man who had hated and hated and never learned how to stop, only how to best unleash it. And right now it was all singularly, uniquely hers, in its entirety, undiluted and undivided between any of the others as he snarled and thrust the business end of his weapon for her jugular this time-

Clang

Whirrrr

And maybe, for just that fleeting moment, his rage was too focused. Maybe he let the rest of the battle save him and Emerald fade to black a second too long.

Part of his blade went spinning off into the night, snapped off by sheer force of contact with a harder, denser material than Emerald's flesh.

"Here's something you haven't been told enough."

Or maybe, as he was forced to entertain when the hand clutching his wrist slowly twisted it all the way back past its shoulder with a grip forged in iron, he wasn't the only shining example of Atlas's military might and prowess in play. The other grip forced his back until he was face to face with its owner, a foe whose decision to tactically position himself for an ambush when the fight inevitably spilled out onto the street was paying off now.

Considering it was the man whose job he stole, the face of steeled anger and resolve staring down his malevolent glare when he turned to confront it wasn't too shabby in its own right as Ironwood calmly finished his statement.

Carnelian automatically twisted away as the ensuing haymaker came in, but ironically found himself facing a similar challenge his conspirator in Atlas had a thousand miles away and a few seconds ago in the form of mechanically braced finger joints that just would not loosen. Ironwood's grip had locked into place, not so much something he mentally envisioned as it was a function of a tool that operated externally to his own body and soul. It played havoc with Carnelian's predictions, cutting them off at the knees by way of an inanimate object with no neural patterns to predict as he planted his feet and squared his jaw.

Absolutely every bone in Carnelian's face rattled with the force of the right hook that followed, leading into another, then a backfist and headbutt combo that sent the general sliding back before Ironwood yanked him right back into a jawjacking uppercut. It was a brutal and efficient strategy, one that threw off the flawless equilibrium and control Carnelian exercised in battle.

But that was as far as it went. Ironwood's arm whirring was interrupted by two rapid cracks and a sickening pop, Carnelian dislocating wrist and thumb both so he could kick off the metal in Ironwood's chest and slip his hand free of the grip, skidding across gravel to land at the mouth of an alley in a crouch.

Such was the sight awaiting the others as they emerged, Carnelian popping the relevant bones back into their sockets and touching a finger to the trickle of blood coming from his nose with a sneer. He stood up, rolling out his neck with a stiff few cracks.

"Well, well. A handful of you might be worth my attention after all. I haven't gotten a proper stretch in years; was starting to think all you hunter types are good for is flipping lots and twirling your weapons around like idiots. I'm pleased to learn there's something more to all that, at least sometimes."

He eyed his broken weapon with a frown.

"Sorry to change gears so suddenly, but why don't you go right ahead and hang onto that relic for me for now? By all means, lick your wounds. Recuperate. I get the impression I haven't exactly caught you at your best. Atlas is what, oh, a week of straight travel from here? Closer to two?"

The butcher gave something halfway to a chuckle, beginning to back away and meld with the encroaching shadow of the alley.

"Maybe I'll see you there. Maybe sooner. Either way, I wish each and every one of you the most pleasant of dreams."​

 

[MyrtenRose]

Such was the sight awaiting the others as they emerged, Carnelian popping the relevant bones back into their sockets and touching a finger to the trickle of blood coming from his nose with a sneer. He stood up, rolling out his neck with a stiff few cracks.

"Well, well. A handful of you might be worth my attention after all. I haven't gotten a proper stretch in years; was starting to think all you hunter types are good for is flipping lots and twirling your weapons around like idiots. I'm pleased to learn there's something more to all that, at least sometimes."

He eyed his broken weapon with a frown.

"Sorry to change gears so suddenly, but why don't you go right ahead and hang onto that relic for me for now? By all means, lick your wounds. Recuperate. I get the impression I haven't exactly caught you at your best. Atlas is what, oh, a week of straight travel from here? Closer to two?"

The butcher gave something halfway to a chuckle, beginning to back away and meld with the encroaching shadow of the alley.

"Maybe I'll see you there. Maybe sooner. Either way, I wish each and every one of you the most pleasant of dreams."

Raven had dropped into a dive the moment James had the upper hand. By the time Carnelian was backing away, it was the human Raven who hit the ground with enough momentum to slide across it, one of her hands going low to snatch up the relic as she passed it by. She came to a gradual halt just as a rush of wind lightly ruffled her hair thanks to someone shooting right past her. ...The hell you will! Tock thought, Ironwood's successful ambush giving her just enough time to catch up. She didn't slow down one bit, her full speed sprint continuing unbroken in a headlong charge right into the shadows of the alley and thrusting out with both swords aimed at his torso. Like hell she was just going to allow him to fall back like that. Not without at least one final try to end this here and now.​

Landing on his feet with a bit of a stumble, Tyrian raced after them, his brain on auto-pilot. The urges doing their best to sound out his complete and utter fear of the situation and what he'd actually do if he caught up to Carnelian.

'We'll kill him!' 'We'll make him suffer!' 'We'll spill his guts!!'

All colorful thinking but did it represent how the faunus truly felt?

....No.

When Tyrian caught up, it was Raven's outstretched arm that didn't have the relic that he ran into. The huntress cut him off before he could advance an inch further. The young faunus still wasn't in the best condition and had proven he couldn't handle the likes of Nora or her reprehensible brother. Any attempt on Carnelian was absolutely out of the question.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

Raven had dropped into a dive the moment James had the upper hand. By the time Carnelian was backing away, it was the human Raven who hit the ground with enough momentum to slide across it, one of her hands going low to snatch up the relic as she passed it by. She came to a gradual halt just as a rush of wind lightly ruffled her hair thanks to someone shooting right past her. ...The hell you will! Tock thought, Ironwood's successful ambush giving her just enough time to catch up. She didn't slow down one bit, her full speed sprint continuing unbroken in a headlong charge right into the shadows of the alley and thrusting out with both swords aimed at his torso. Like hell she was just going to allow him to fall back like that. Not without at least one final try to end this here and now.

"Y'know what? For you, I'll make an exception. Those sixty seconds you were broadcasting earlier must've elapsed by now, right?"

And judging from the other surface thoughts he picked up, that left the fiercest adversary of the bunch vulnerable to this.

Carnelian stepped forward, form such a shimmering blur that even Tock's faunus eyes had a hard time distinguishing between him and shadow as he shuddered past the immortal's thrust like some kind of vengeful spectre. Even with one broken both his swords whirled, reminiscent of helicopter blades as he subjected Tock to the same blender maneuver that had torn Yang's aura to pieces earlier.

Only this time, he didn't plan on stopping until his enemy hit the ground in pieces.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"Y'know what? For you, I'll make an exception. Those sixty seconds you were broadcasting earlier must've elapsed by now, right?"

And judging from the other surface thoughts he picked up, that left the fiercest adversary of the bunch vulnerable to this.

Carnelian stepped forward, form such a shimmering blur that even Tock's faunus eyes had a hard time distinguishing between him and shadow as he shuddered past the immortal's thrust like some kind of vengeful spectre. Even with one broken both his blades whirled, reminiscent of helicopter blades as he subjected Tock to the same blender maneuver that had torn Yang's aura to pieces earlier.

Only this time, he didn't plan on stopping until his enemy hit the ground in pieces.​

They had.

Something readily apparent as he tore through her with ease in stark contrast to the way his attacks had bounced off her before, the speed at which he attacked she found difficult to even keep up with. The cuts and gashes added up, rapidly transitioning from more shallow scrapes to deep slices as Tock weakened more and more with every strike. It was so quick that there were multiple swipes for each pained grunt that escaped her mouth, and in the end it left the faunus nothing more than a bunch of scarred body parts and severed limbs, several streams of red coalescing together into a large bloody pool. But it didn't last long.

An aura of a downright divine nature that was clearly not the croc's green aura enveloped every scattered part of her in a soft golden light...and then that radiant gleam flared out in all directions, temporarily blinding all present. When the light receded and vision returned, it came with the sight of a once again completely whole Tock without even a hint of any of those numerous wounds upon her, standing in the pool of blood and currently cracking her neck like she'd just woken up from an uncomfortable nap. If he was still present, her eyes rested on Carnelian in a fierce glare. "No." She growled. "You aren't claiming any more faunus lives. Not today." ​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

Sober Weiss, in all her shrewd cunning and intellect, might have seen the maneuver coming. Weiss plus a bottle of vintage red did not, and the noise she made when a hand shot through the curtain of hair, closed around her throat and started squeezing was simply the type of noise Weiss Schnee hadn't made in a very, very long time. Not since the last time someone put their hands on her in such an unpleasant manner. "Nonono stop, get OFF me, get off-" Weiss's current state of heightened emotions meant whatever memories were surfacing were apparently more painful and potent than anything physical Yang was doing, and the panicked flailing of slaps that rained down on the robotic arm after the initial tugging failed to loosen its hold was pathetic enough that for a brief moment it might've had Yang questioning if this alternate version of the heiress even knew how to fight at all. She squeezed her eyes shut with a quiet whimper, like she always did, because if she just stayed quiet and waited then her father's fit of temper would pass and she could-

Wait.

When Qrow stepped through the portal, the fear in Yang subsided somewhat. Whatever that monster was on the other side, there wasn't anyone Yang trusted more besides herself than Qrow to keep Ruby safe. But the tension in her shoulder's didn't fade. As the adrenaline of dread left her system and her pulse started to slow, she was forced to reconcile with what she was doing. She still didn't look back at Weiss.

She couldn't.

While it may not have been the right way to physically fight Yang, hearing that voice make those sounds stabbed into the core of Yang way deeper than myrtenaster ever could. This was a side of Weiss she never got to see, that no one ever should have seen, ever. The only reason Jacques Schnee hadn't gotten a fist through his face when he showed up at Amnity arena was because Yang knew it was Weiss' fight, not hers, and she didn't know what Weiss wanted out of her father in the end. Families were complicated, Yang got that. Like... really, really got that.

Yet she was seeing this side of Weiss, the young girl who'd been stuck under the thumb of a petty, violent man for her whole childhood. Only it wasn't a petty, violent man who had her hand around her throat; it was Yang. She grit her teeth and heaved a breath. "J-just go to sleep, just pass out, just stop and this can be over-!"

"I changed my mind. I'm making you into a rug."

That was when Weiss spoke, cool, commanding and confident in contrast to the pathetic sniveling of before. She was every bit as proud of herself for bringing that bout of delirium to heel as she was embarrassed by its occurrence in the first place, and now all that was left was to do the same to the unruly ruffian who dared put a hand on her to begin with. She put her hands on the robot arm firmly, and seemed to take genuine enjoyment in locking eyes with Yang as the light trickling from the corner of her eyes flared to submerge them entirely in a brilliant, blue light.

Then her arm shattered.

Without her aura flowing through it it was little more than the finest in Atlesian steel. Impressive, no doubt, but completely insignificant next to the power she now wielded. Yang felt the cold spreading outward from the points Weiss's hands made contact all the way up at her shoulder, and even with its intensity reduced by distance it was cold, colder than anything she'd ever touched. It only took seconds for the arm to freeze over completely below the elbow, metal made as brittle as the fractals icing it over, like it had been dipped in liquid nitrogen. Her eyes flared up again when she pulverized it, dusting off her hands in the aftermath as if disposing of something unpleasant.

A violent gust of wind swirled through the mist, battering Yang into the wall before the mist formed and solidified into restraints that pinned Yang to the floor, flat on her back. There was something unbelievably self-celebratory about the way Weiss picked herself up, patted herself down, and approached, but she didn't stop to deliver any grandiose speech to Yang or admire her hair. Instead she closed the distance between them until she stood directly over the huntress, looking down on her with a haughty, superior smile.

Then she slowly put one foot forward and stepped down, letting the heel press against Yang's throat just firmly enough so her airflow was restricted but it'd still take about a half minute for her to pass out. She made sure Yang spent every second of it looking into her eyes, glowing and faintly lidded, smirk never fading as she watched whatever shape the brawler's struggles took right up until she felt her go slack.

Yang was tough, almost comically so. She'd been chewed up and spit out of more fights than almost anyone else had even before she got to Beacon in her search for her mom. She'd been cut, stabbed, shot, dismembered, hit with every dust element in the book, and even had a brief encounter with lava once.

So it was particularly impressive that Weiss managed to make her feel a kind of pain that was new, and as the absolutely bitter cold gnawed against her stump Yang made a quiet and surprised noise of pain was wholly out of place coming from her. She barely even registered the slam against the wall, her real hand trying to reach over towards the pain only to be frozen in place on the other side. She struggled, at least at first. She wouldn't be her if she didn't, and she bucked against the icy shackles around her shoulders and legs with heaves of effort and frustrated grunts right up until the moment Weiss planted her foot against her throat. She went slack. Bullheaded as she was, there was such a thing as impossible, and getting out of this was proving to be just that. Her gaze tilted over to Weiss' own, a frown on her face born of pain and something else. She didn't know if Weiss intended to pick that boot up once Yang passed out. There was a chance these were her final moments on this Remnant, on any Remnant. The thought of how she'd spent them, even in defense of her baby sister, even if this Weiss really was completely gung ho about this whole Ozpin thing...

She forced the last air she had in her lungs out past the blockage on her throat, sputtering her last words weakly through her vocal chords in a final act of defiance.

"...Sorry... about...that."

 

[MidwayLives]

After being bludgeoned through one wall Emerald had only a fleeting moment to appreciate the cooling sensation of the night air on her back before being slammed into another, carving out a small crater in the mountainface as he pinned her by the throat with one arm and pulled his weapon back with the other. A number of bullets and sickle slashes hit their mark, but seemed about as effective as ant stings were at dissuading a charging rhino for all the reaction it provoked.

"You like toying around in people's heads, missy?"

The hilt struck the bridge of her nose, but Emerald would've been forgiven for thinking it was a sledgehammer.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you a man's mind is his castle?"

It struck home again, this time a battering swing across her cheek, and he pulled it back for a third, decisive strike to cap things off. As spiteful as the general was, as much honed and weaponized rage was buffeting Emerald like the winds of a desert sandstorm right now, he never raised his voice or shouted. It wasn't that kind of rage. It was the cold, venom of a disappointed father, the raw, quiet wrath of a man who had hated and hated and never learned how to stop, only how to best unleash it. And right now it was all singularly, uniquely hers, in its entirety, undiluted and undivided between any of the others as he snarled and thrust the business end of his weapon for her jugular this time-

Neo reappeared and watched as Emerald slumped down after being saved from that merciless beating.

"..."

Making her way over to the downed girl's side, Neo let Hush drop and cradled Emerald in her arms. Damn it, she had put too much reliance on Emerald's damn impressive semblance to keep her safe. Her getting hurt had been the least of Neo's worries. Then again, Neo hadn't expected to be tossed through a window as though she were trash that Carnelian was throwing out.

Maybe Neo cared more than she let on. Maybe she didn't and had her own reasons for doing this.

In the end, she guessed it didn't matter. The end result would be the same.

This fucker dead right here and now.
​

Carnelian stepped forward, form such a shimmering blur that even Tock's faunus eyes had a hard time distinguishing between him and shadow as he shuddered past the immortal's thrust like some kind of vengeful spectre. Even with one broken both his swords whirled, reminiscent of helicopter blades as he subjected Tock to the same blender maneuver that had torn Yang's aura to pieces earlier.

Only this time, he didn't plan on stopping until his enemy hit the ground in pieces.

Neo had shattered and reappeared behind Carneilan as he was occupied by Tock(who seemed to be standing over a huge pile of blood. The hell had happened there and how did she look so fine?! Questions for later Neo supposed...)Twirling Hush around in her hands, there wasn't a wasted movement. In the flurry of twirls, the blade was extracted from Hush and Neo sought to try and plunge it straight into Carneilan's back.

'straight through the back, right out the front, take out his heart.'

'take out his heart'

'kill the son of a bitch for what he did!'

Neo's thoughts weren't the most pleasant but then again?

Neither was she~ : )
​

 

[Gus Gungus]

They had.

Something readily apparent as he tore through her with ease in stark contrast to the way his attacks had bounced off her before, the speed at which he attacked she found difficult to even keep up with. The cuts and gashes added up, rapidly transitioning from more shallow scrapes to deep slices as Tock weakened more and more with every strike. It was so quick that there were multiple swipes for each pained grunt that escaped her mouth, and in the end it left the faunus nothing more than a bunch of scarred body parts and severed limbs, several streams of red coalescing together into a large bloody pool. But it didn't last long.

An aura of a downright divine nature that was clearly not the croc's green aura enveloped every scattered part of her in a soft golden light...and then that radiant gleam flared out in all directions, temporarily blinding all present. When the light receded and vision returned, it came with the sight of a once again completely whole Tock without even a hint of any of those numerous wounds upon her, standing in the pool of blood and currently cracking her neck like she'd just woken up from an uncomfortable nap. If he was still present, her eyes rested on Carnelian in a fierce glare. "No." She growled. "You aren't claiming any more faunus lives. Not today."

"Oh? Is that a promise you really have any intention of keeping?"

After a display like that? He most certainly was still present. He had shifted further back into the shadows that became him so well by the time the spellbinding light finally dimmed, artificial eye dilating as it eagerly captured every moment even when forced to screw shut his organic one lest it go blind.

"In that case, what if I told you that I'm going to eviscerate this scorpion fellow right now if you don't hand the relic over without a fuss?"

His words were delivered with casual indifference, like he felt no more strongly about the proposal than he did about squashing a bug. To demonstrate that he was serious, he calmly started strolling over towards the mouth of the alley where Tyrian and Raven were, downright leisurely in pace and extending a wordless invite for her to try and stop him if she wished.

"If you agree, you're a failure. If you don't, you're a liar. Quite the box you've put yourself in, wouldn't you say? It's funny, if you'd been a little less eager to sound tough and actually put some conviction into those words of yours I would've held true to mine and let you all be for now, but if there's one thing I deplore it's talk without meaning! So now I'm intrigued; let's find out. Failure or liar?"

And just like that, that was the game. There was a genuine, sporting glee to his tone as he continued his ominous advance toward Tyrian, right eye gleaming with bloodlust as he pointed his sword's tip at the faunus's chest as if marking him for death then and there. In case there was any lingering uncertainty, he decided to spell out his new ultimatum for all to hear.

"Just so it's clear to everybody: the boy dies right here and now if the relic isn't in my hand by the count of five! One!"

In the flurry of twirls, the blade was extracted from Hush and Neo sought to try and plunge it straight into Carneilan's back.

'straight through the back, right out the front, take out his heart.'

'take out his heart'

'kill the son of a bitch for what he did!'

Neo's thoughts weren't the most pleasant but then again?

Neither was she~ : )

The back of Carnelian's fist cracked Neo square in the face during her windup, the general not so much as giving her the courtesy of turning around.

"Two!"​

 

[MidwayLives]

When Tyrian caught up, it was Raven's outstretched arm that didn't have the relic that he ran into. The huntress cut him off before he could advance an inch further. The young faunus still wasn't in the best condition and had proven he couldn't handle the likes of Nora or her reprehensible brother. Any attempt on Carnelian was absolutely out of the question.

Tyrian skidded to a stop before he crashed into Raven, adrenaline being the only thing keeping him on his feet right now.

"What are you doing??? He's gonna get away!!! I-I've gotta stop him! I've gotta..."

Oh, there it was. The jolts of pain.

"Ugh....I need to..."

Tyrian took a step forward, clearly intending to try and force his way through if he needed to. He wasn't going to let anyone stop him. The voices wanted him to kill Carneilan so he would...
​

"In that case, what if I were to tell you that I'm going to eviscerate this scorpion fellow right now if you don't hand the relic over without a fuss?"

What....What did he say??

'He's full of hot air!' 'He won't kill us!' 'We're going to be the ones to kill him!'

'Right...??'

....Then the voices went silent.

Maybe they'd gotten scared too.

"I...I..."

Tyrian's bottom lip trembled and the bloodlust/enthusiasm he had was fading quicker than Tock's wounds had. Perhaps it was more difficult to see given his bouts of insanity but Tyrian still was just a boy at the end of the day.

In this case: he was a terrified boy.

His tail couldn't protect him without his stinger. Carneilan had shown him that he was too fast for the bullets even at close range.

He was screwed.

He cried.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

She forced the last air she had in her lungs out past the blockage on her throat, sputtering her last words weakly through her vocal chords in a final act of defiance.

"...Sorry... about...that."

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

And just like that, the heel came up, Weiss stooped over, and Yang could at the very least breathe again as the councilwoman flipped her ponytail and tapped her ear, turning her head so she could better hear the brawler.

"You're going to have to speak up. And would it kill you to show a little initiative when you're begging for your life? They left you, in case you didn't realize." Her hand flapped impatiently over to where the portal had been, and was no longer. "Your life literally depends on this, and the best you can come up with is 'sorry about that'? What are you, five years old? Did you borrow my ringbinder without asking? I've seriously never heard anything more pathetic sounding in my entire life!"

She folded her arms and drummed her fingers against the opposite bicep with scathing amounts of disapproval, motioning impatiently for Yang to take it from the top.​

 

[MidwayLives]

The back of Carnelian's fist cracked Neo square in the face during her windup, the general not so much as giving her the courtesy of turning around.

"Two!"

The unexpected strength behind the blow took Neo by surprise. Her aura shimmered and as she was flung back, Hush's blade clattered down beside her. She was like 100% certain that if her aura hadn't held up right then and there, this bastard would have broken her nose. He seemed like he was always one goddamn step ahead of her! Quite frankly it was starting to really piss. her. OFF!!!

Grabbing Hush's blade, Neo was prepared to try as many times as she had to. She wasn't going to be happy until this guy was dead at her feet-
​

There was a genuine, sporting glee to his tone as he continued his ominous advance toward Tyrian, right eye gleaming with bloodlust as he pointed his sword's tip at the faunus's chest as if marking him for death then and there. In case there was any lingering uncertainty, he decided to spell out his new ultimatum for all to hear.

"Just so it's clear to everybody: the boy dies right here and now if the relic isn't in my hand by the count of five! One!"

"....!!!"

Back during their fight, Qrow had said something to her.

Something about how she was stupid to be fighting for Ozpin's crew. The idiot didn't understand that Neo didn't have a choice. Between living or suffering unimaginable cruelty, she took the former without hesitation. She'd kill with a gleeful grin on her face but there were some things that even Neo couldn't find any enjoyment in.

A crying kid was one of those things.

Maybe it's because she'd seen herself in their shoes before. When her life hadn't been so great and when it fell to shit again after losing Roman. She'd rather that if she were to kill anyone that they take it on the chin. Or on the other end of the spectrum be so knocked out that they wouldn't even realize what happened til they just....didn't wake up after she'd eviscerated them.

But....please, no tears. What a waste of good suffering.

She didn't know what this guy's semblance was but Neo hated to admit it. Qrow had been right. She'd been a fool to even consider playing ball with Ozpin's side if it had monsters like this on it. As far as she knew, she'd keep getting slapped aside. Maybe even get her aura broken. She couldn't just stand by while this guy got whatever he wanted handed to him on a silver platter.

"grr...."

Another breathy attempt at a growl purged itself from her mouth. Wasn't exactly the most eloquent thing but she had enough of this guy.

Forming two other illusions of herself, two rushed for Carneilan while the real her went to try and tackle Tyrian out of the way.....and put herself right in Carneilan's crosshairs. Relic or not, this guy wasn't getting what he wanted.​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

The back of Carnelian's fist cracked Neo square in the face during her windup, the general not so much as giving her the courtesy of turning around.

"Two!"

The count of two was where she made her move.

Everyone was focused on Carnelian. How could they not be? He was a terror on the battlefield, batting aside esteemed students and veteran immortal hunters alike. Taking your eyes off of him for a second meant the next tick of the clock would be a blade in your gut.

Which is exactly what she was counting on as she descended from above onto Raven like a shadow with streaks of blood and light, deathly silent and shadow fang mask covering whatever expression Blake had as she planted a kick into the back of Raven's skull, snatched the relic from her side, and dashed off in a mad sprint for a nearby alleyway. She split into three of herself at the intersection; one disappearing in the shadow of the right, one vanishing into the darkness on the left, and the last kicking straight up off the ground and off the nearby wall to launch herself over the building, all the while screaming one thought as the two that cleared the building split into yet another two before they crested over the roof.

'Can't let it happen can't let it happen can't let it happen-!'

A trio of shots carried across the group perpendicular to Carnelian's inexorable advance, and a ways down the street Watts staggered against the wall of the corner he'd just turned, his face contorted into pain and a hand covering a deep, bloody wound at his side that didn't look like it was slowing any time soon as he coughed out, apparently unable to see Carnelian from where he was, and apparently busy with his own problems this entire time.

"I *cough* don't know what you all are doing but perhaps GET AFTER HER?"

 

[Gus Gungus]

Way further up the mountainside, Eve sat by a pond with legs tucked beneath her and gazed at the reflection of the moon, disturbed every now and then by the pebbles she tossed in as she reflected.

It was peaceful here.​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

And just like that, the heel came up, Weiss stooped over, and Yang could at the very least breathe again as the councilwoman flipped her ponytail and tapped her ear, turning her head so she could better hear the brawler.

"You're going to have to speak up. And would it kill you to show a little initiative when you're begging for your life? They left you, in case you didn't realize." Her hand flapped impatiently over to where the portal had been, and was no longer. "Your life literally depends on this, and the best you can come up with is 'sorry about that'? What are you, five years old? Did you borrow my ringbinder without asking? I've seriously never heard anything more pathetic sounding in my entire life!"

She folded her arms and drummed her fingers against the opposite bicep with scathing amounts of disapproval, motioning impatiently for Yang to take it from the top.​

The air was sucked back into her lungs with the reflexive uncontrolled desperation of a drowning woman finally cresting the surface, and she immediately had to cough it back up in a fit that wracked her entire body, or as much as her range of motion allowed. She sucked another breath in, coughed again, and then again. It was almost as if she was having a harder time the more breaths she got rather than the other way around, something that made zero sense until the other involuntary sound her body was trying to make finally managed to sneak out through another bout of coughs.

She was laughing.

She dug deep into the remaining reservoirs of will she had to force herself to take a slower breath, and she exhaled with a sad grin as she closed her eyes.

"Oh my gods. you really *cough* are her, aren't you?"

She took another deep breath and gave as much of a shrug as her range of motion allowed, which hurt way way more than she wanted to as it moved her stump against the ground and she immediately hissed it pain.

"...m'not begging for my life or anything *cough cough* like that. Just saying that I was sorry."

 

[Gus Gungus]

She split into three of herself at the intersection; one disappearing in the shadow of the right, one vanishing into the darkness on the left, and the last kicking straight up off the ground and off the nearby wall to launch herself over the building, all the while screaming one thought as the two that cleared the building split into yet another two before they crested over the roof.

'Can't let it happen can't let it happen can't let it happen-!'

"Was that a ninja?"

He pondered as he watched this latest round of interference disappear over the horizon with his prize, immediately discarding his interest in the game at hand to launch himself off his back foot and begin a full on predatory pursuit, following the psionic trail left by whichever of the duplicates could claim true sentience and covering ground fast.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

Neo had shattered and reappeared behind Carneilan as he was occupied by Tock(who seemed to be standing over a huge pile of blood. The hell had happened there and how did she look so fine?! Questions for later Neo supposed...)Twirling Hush around in her hands, there wasn't a wasted movement. In the flurry of twirls, the blade was extracted from Hush and Neo sought to try and plunge it straight into Carneilan's back.

'straight through the back, right out the front, take out his heart.'

'take out his heart'

'kill the son of a bitch for what he did!'

Neo's thoughts weren't the most pleasant but then again?

Neither was she~ : )

"..." That was...that was the one who'd been part of the intended ambush on her and Qrow before the whole battle for Haven had kicked off in earnest. Raven watched in uncertainty as the tiny woman went for the attack on Carnelian, with no clue on what kind of game the more psycho ice cream queen was playing at right now.​

"Oh? Is that a promise you really have any intention of keeping?"

After a display like that? He most certainly was still present. He had shifted further back into the shadows that became him so well by the time the spellbinding light finally dimmed, artificial eye dilating as it eagerly captured every moment even when forced to screw shut his organic one lest it go blind.

"ARE YOU DEAF? DID I FUCKING STUTTER? I SAID--" Tock started to yell back, 1000% done with this guy's bullshit.​

"In that case, what if I told you that I'm going to eviscerate this scorpion fellow right now if you don't hand the relic over without a fuss?"

"...…………………….." The yell faded away as silence and a somewhat worried peripheral glance back towards Tyrian took its place.

His words were delivered with casual indifference, like he felt no more strongly about the proposal than he did about squashing a bug. To demonstrate that he was serious, he calmly started strolling over towards the mouth of the alley where Tyrian and Raven were, downright leisurely in pace and extending a wordless invite for her to try and stop him if she wished.

"If you agree, you're a failure. If you don't, you're a liar. Quite the box you've put yourself in, wouldn't you say? It's funny, if you'd been a little less eager to sound tough and actually put some conviction into those words of yours I would've held true to mine and let you all be for now, but if there's one thing I deplore it's talk without meaning! So now I'm intrigued; let's find out. Failure or liar?"

And just like that, that was the game. There was a genuine, sporting glee to his tone as he continued his ominous advance toward Tyrian, right eye gleaming with bloodlust as he pointed his sword's tip at the faunus's chest as if marking him for death then and there. In case there was any lingering uncertainty, he decided to spell out his new ultimatum for all to hear.

"Just so it's clear to everybody: the boy dies right here and now if the relic isn't in my hand by the count of five! One!"

"rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHH!!!"

With a ferocious howl far more characteristic of lions rather than the likes of crocodiles, the auraless Tock absolutely threw herself into his path to block him off. She didn't care that she had no aura left, she didn't give a single damn how many times the guy managed to temporarily put her down. She didn't give a single fuck about seemingly anything other than keeping her word, the huntress willing every muscle to move to their utmost as she lashed out in a pure frenzy for the walking Carnelian, intending to delay him for as long as possible, the faunus turning herself into a veritable hurricane of slices and stabs and sword thrusts and even punches and kicks, whatever it took. Not one more faunus was going to suffer at his hands today. No matter how many deaths/rebirths she had to suffer in their place to make it so.​

Tyrian skidded to a stop before he crashed into Raven, adrenaline being the only thing keeping him on his feet right now.

"What are you doing??? He's gonna get away!!! I-I've gotta stop him! I've gotta..."

Oh, there it was. The jolts of pain.

"Ugh....I need to..."

Tyrian took a step forward, clearly intending to try and force his way through if he needed to. He wasn't going to let anyone stop him. The voices wanted him to kill Carneilan so he would...

"STAY THE HELL BACK YOU IDIOT!" Raven roared in a voice that left no room for argument, still holding him back even as much of her attention was on Carnelian and everyone making moves on him.​

The back of Carnelian's fist cracked Neo square in the face during her windup, the general not so much as giving her the courtesy of turning around.

"Two!"

Not that the attempted ice cream queen assault seemed to matter all that much to the general.​

Another breathy attempt at a growl purged itself from her mouth. Wasn't exactly the most eloquent thing but she had enough of this guy.

Forming two other illusions of herself, two rushed for Carneilan while the real her went to try and tackle Tyrian out of the way.....and put herself right in Carneilan's crosshairs. Relic or not, this guy wasn't getting what he wanted.

The real her got a kick from Raven that absolutely kept the petite woman from getting anywhere close to Tyrian. Still no idea what the hell the chick was playing at but the last time Branwen had seen her, she'd most definitely been a foe. Nobody under that classification was laying their hands on Tyrian, not while she had something to say about it. Her sword briefly brandished against Carnelian--​

The count of two was where she made her move.

Everyone was focused on Carnelian. How could they not be? He was a terror on the battlefield, batting aside esteemed students and veteran immortal hunters alike. Taking your eyes off of him for a second meant the next tick of the clock would be a blade in your gut.

Which is exactly what she was counting on as she descended from above onto Raven like a shadow with streaks of blood and light, deathly silent and shadow fang mask covering whatever expression Blake had as she planted a kick into the back of Raven's skull, snatched the relic from her side, and dashed off in a mad sprint for a nearby alleyway. She split into three of herself at the intersection; one disappearing in the shadow of the right, one vanishing into the darkness on the left, and the last kicking straight up off the ground and off the nearby wall to launch herself over the building, all the while screaming one thought as the two that cleared the building split into yet another two before they crested over the roof.

Only to get blindsided as another party made clear their presence in this madness, the female Branwen twin dropping headfirst into the ground below from the force of that kick.​

A trio of shots carried across the group perpendicular to Carnelian's inexorable advance, and a ways down the street Watts staggered against the wall of the corner he'd just turned, his face contorted into pain and a hand covering a deep, bloody wound at his side that didn't look like it was slowing any time soon as he coughed out, apparently unable to see Carnelian from where he was, and apparently busy with his own problems this entire time.

"I *cough* don't know what you all are doing but perhaps GET AFTER HER?"

"Was that a ninja?"

He pondered as he watched this latest round of interference disappear over the horizon with his prize, immediately discarding his interest in the game at hand to launch himself off his back foot and begin a full on predatory pursuit, following the psionic trail left by whichever of the duplicates could claim true sentience and covering ground fast.

The blow only kept her down for not even a second, as she instantly jumped back to her feet, starting for a sprint that briefly had her following right behind Carnelian...until the sounds of her footfalls vanished, replaced by the flaps of wings as she continued on as fast as ever, gaining a bird's eye view in the process.

Tock hesitated just long enough to glance Tyrian's way, make sure the kid was a-okay...the clear fear in his eyes and body language aside. Once she was satisfied that he was, she turned away and took a step to start following after Blake and Carnelian and Raven herself. She didn't get a single step further. Not alone, anyway. For just as swiftly as Blake had come in, another did too. A burst of rose petals announced that she had regained consciousness some time ago, the speedy young huntress grabbing hold of Tock as she went, figuring that even without any aura the elder faunus was still among the deadliest fighters they possessed. One that they couldn't afford not using to maximum effectiveness.

A swirl of red and green soared by underneath the flying raven at far greater speeds, caught up with Carnelian and even shot past him before he could make any moves their way, Ruby pushing herself to her limits and beyond. A brief thought of Harriet flashed through her head, thinking that her fellow speedster(maybe? what the ace ops member had said about her semblance still left her puzzled) would have been really impressed. As soon as she managed to get close enough, Ruby quite literally threw Tock at the evil version of Blake in a super-speed fastball special tackle. Though the possible use of the cat's semblance wasn't an idea that got by her, Ruby staying ready to launch herself directly at the Shadow Fang operative if needs be.

Witnessing that, Raven adjusted her course in an immediate downward dive. Halfway through she shifted back, her human self plummeting down rapidly for where Carnelian was, sword coming down in a powerful overhead swing. She trusted that those two could handle that, but she just needed to delay this guy for as long as possible to give them however much time they needed to do it.​

 

[MidwayLives]

Which is exactly what she was counting on as she descended from above onto Raven like a shadow with streaks of blood and light, deathly silent and shadow fang mask covering whatever expression Blake had as she planted a kick into the back of Raven's skull, snatched the relic from her side, and dashed off in a mad sprint for a nearby alleyway. She split into three of herself at the intersection; one disappearing in the shadow of the right, one vanishing into the darkness on the left, and the last kicking straight up off the ground and off the nearby wall to launch herself over the building, all the while screaming one thought as the two that cleared the building split into yet another two before they crested over the roof.

The hell just happened-
​

The real her got a kick from Raven that absolutely kept the petite woman from getting anywhere close to Tyrian. Still no idea what the hell the chick was playing at but the last time Branwen had seen her, she'd most definitely been a foe. Nobody under that classification was laying their hands on Tyrian, not while she had something to say about it. Her sword briefly brandished against Carnelian--​

The other illusions shattered and Neo ate asphalt for what felt like the umpteenth time this fight.

Her aura flared around her and she took a moment or two to collect herself as she lay on the ground.

Now that she had time to think about it, it looked like that damn pussycat had been the one to intervene.

Another thing was that she was oh-so- tired of getting punched/kicked in the face.

>: (
​

 

[MidwayLives]

Tock hesitated just long enough to glance Tyrian's way, make sure the kid was a-okay...the clear fear in his eyes and body language aside. Once she was satisfied that he was, she turned away and took a step to start following after Blake and Carnelian and Raven herself.

Tyrian hadn't moved.

He'd been frozen by fear.

The fear of dying to a monster like Carneilan.

Falling flat onto his rear, Tyrian pulled his knees in close as he whimpered.

He wished the voices would come back...​

 

[Gus Gungus]

The air was sucked back into her lungs with the reflexive uncontrolled desperation of a drowning woman finally cresting the surface, and she immediately had to cough it back up in a fit that wracked her entire body, or as much as her range of motion allowed. She sucked another breath in, coughed again, and then again. It was almost as if she was having a harder time the more breaths she got rather than the other way around, something that made zero sense until the other involuntary sound her body was trying to make finally managed to sneak out through another bout of coughs.

She was laughing.

She dug deep into the remaining reservoirs of will she had to force herself to take a slower breath, and she exhaled with a sad grin as she closed her eyes.

"Oh my gods. you really *cough* are her, aren't you?"

She took another deep breath and gave as much of a shrug as her range of motion allowed, which hurt way way more than she wanted to as it moved her stump against the ground and she immediately hissed it pain.

"...m'not begging for my life or anything *cough cough* like that. Just saying that I was sorry."

Weiss watched the entire display unfold with one eyebrow raised and a tight, scrutinizing frown, as if watching someone incredibly slow try to carry out a simple task with dwindling patience. Only when the offworlder finally managed to spit it out did she at last impart an eye roll that could've moved the heavens, apparently dissatisfied by the response she ended up getting.

"Yes, well. Everyone's sorry with a boot to their throat."

She hummed tonelessly, like she'd been expecting more gratification out of that than she ultimately received. Probably a result of this mopheaded oaf managing to completely and utterly destroy what had been a wonderful (if slightly distracting) buzz in the space of a few seconds; in Weiss's experience there was nothing quite as sobering as feeling someone's hands around your neck, wringing the air from your lungs. A light flick spawned a glyph behind the trolley she'd been drinking from, sending it gently wheeling over for her to sit back against as she poured herself a fresh glass, never once disappearing from Yang's inverted view of her from the floor. She swished the liquid around in her glass, eyes distant as she considered her next move in this ever-transforming game of chess.

"...If you start getting familiar or appealing to my better nature or whatever I promise you I will kill you. Don't expect me to suffer that type of nonsense as gladly as miss Belladonna did. I'm not who you know, any more than this world's ungainly lout with thick hair and a thicker skull stands as an accurate representation of your interests and wishes. I assume that's a statement you'd agree with, right? So please, save your breath and my time."

Her tone was strangely conversational for that of an enemy, even with the overbearing air of condescension absolutely blitzing Yang from every angle as she raised the glass to her lips and narrowed her eyes.

"Say you understand."​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

A swirl of red and green soared by underneath the flying raven at far greater speeds, caught up with Carnelian and even shot past him before he could make any moves their way, Ruby pushing herself to her limits and beyond. A brief thought of Harriet flashed through her head, thinking that her fellow speedster(maybe? what the ace ops member had said about her semblance still left her puzzled) would have been really impressed. As soon as she managed to get close enough, Ruby quite literally threw Tock at the evil version of Blake in a super-speed fastball special tackle. Though the possible use of the cat's semblance wasn't an idea that got by her, Ruby staying ready to launch herself directly at the Shadow Fang operative if needs be.

It was almost eerie how quickly Blake reacted to the oncoming crocodile missile, as she shadowstepped backwards to allow the other faunus to shoot past her as she landed in a crouch-

Ruby's scythe caught her full on, and she shattered. Another clone, though it didn't disappear in the same way Blake's normally did, and more importantly...

She didn't reappear. Something, as far as Ruby knew about her own Blake, wasn't something her semblance could do.

Tyrian hadn't moved.

He'd been frozen by fear.

The fear of dying to a monster like Carneilan.

Falling flat onto his rear, Tyrian pulled his knees in close as he whimpered.

He wished the voices would come back...

Watts limped down the street, using the wall for support as his other hand covered his side, glaring as he saw Carnelian disappear after Blake and a whole swath of people made chase.

At least until he was sure Carnelian was really gone (for now), at which point he broke out into a full sprint with far more vigor than someone with a gaping hole in their gut should have been able to, and skidded to a halt next to Tyrian in a way that ended with him kneeling, gripping his teammate by the shoulders and making the scorpion faunus meet his eyes.

" I understand, Tyrian. But we need to go. Now. HAZEL! YOU AND YOUR SISTER AS WELL!"

All the older hunters had Carnelian contained and distracted for now, as much as he could be. That meant if they were ever going to make their escape and be out of his sight, then the time was now. Let the elderly handle the eldery, as it were. He and the remains of MTEN were going to get out of here. He tried to pull Tyrian up to his feet, and if he succeeded, led him in a sprint back in the other direction, to where he'd told Emerald and Mercury to meet him

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

Weiss watched the entire display unfold with one eyebrow raised and a tight, scrutinizing frown, as if watching someone incredibly slow try to carry out a simple task with dwindling patience. Only when the offworlder finally managed to spit it out did she at last impart an eye roll that could've moved the heavens, apparently dissatisfied by the response she ended up getting.

"Yes, well. Everyone's sorry with a boot on their throat."

She hummed tonelessly, like she'd been expecting more gratification out of that than she ended up getting. Probably a result of this mopheaded oaf managing to completely and utterly destroy what had been a wonderful (if slightly distracting) buzz in the space of a few seconds; in Weiss's experience there was nothing quite as sobering as feeling someone's hands around your neck, wringing the air from your lungs. A light flick spawned a glyph behind the trolley she'd been drinking from, sending it gently wheeling over for her to sit back against as she poured herself a fresh glass, never once disappearing from Yang's inverted view of her from the floor. She swished the liquid around in her glass, eyes distant as she considered her next move in this ever-transforming game of chess.

Yang gave a morose sigh at that declaration, no longer bothering to maintain eye contact. As the oxygen started flowing through her system again, and the adrenaline spike of being near death faded, all the pain of the beating she'd taken over the course of this day slowly seeped back into the noticeable part of her brain. Between the trash fire, the monster she didn't yet know was Carnelian, and Weiss, she was bruised, battered, and hurt pretty much everywhere.

"Don't gotta believe me. Just had to say it."

"...If you start getting familiar or appealing to my better nature or whatever I promise you I will kill you. Don't expect me to suffer that type of nonsense as gladly as miss Belladonna did. I'm not who you know, any more than this world's ungainly lout with thick hair and a thicker skull stands as an accurate representation of your interests and wishes. I assume that's a statement you'd agree with, right? So please, save your breath and my time."

Her tone was strangely conversational for that of an enemy, even with the overbearing air of condescension absolutely blitzing Yang from every angle as she raised the glass to her lips and narrowed her eyes.

"Say you understand."

The snort from Yang was way less amused than her earlier hacking giggles. "Are you talking about when she told me that I was an idiot and she'd kill me next time we met? Or..."

She closed her eyes and took a breath, her survival instincts outweighing her innate, nigh inescapable desire to talk smack

"Yes, Miss Schnee."

Mostly, anyways.

 

[Gus Gungus]

All the older hunters had Carnelian contained and distracted for now, as much as he could be. That meant if they were ever going to make their escape and be out of his sight, then the time was now. Let the elderly handle the eldery, as it were. He and the remains of MTEN were going to get out of here. He tried to pull Tyrian up to his feet, and if he succeeded, led him in a sprint back in the other direction, to where he'd told Emerald and Mercury to meet him

*HONK HONK*

"Hop in, bitches!" Mercury declared in a triumphant drawl as he pulled up a moment after they arrived in what appeared to be the most ridiculous vehicle in Mistral, totally misreading the tone of the situation. Emerald sat on the bonnet like she was queen of the universe, but cast a mildly worried glance back over the four-seater as Watts... ran up in a group of four people. One of whom was huge.

"Remind me why we stole the tiniest car in the lot again?"

"Cause it's awesome. Anyway, she'll hold."

"HAZEL BY HIMSELF CAN HARDLY FIT IN HERE, MERCURY!"

"She'll hold! Just... scooch! Did you adjust your seats?"​

 

[MyrtenRose]

It was almost eerie how quickly Blake reacted to the oncoming crocodile missile, as she shadowstepped backwards to allow the other faunus to shoot past her as she landed in a crouch-

Ruby's scythe caught her full on, and she shattered. Another clone, though it didn't disappear in the same way Blake's normally did, and more importantly...

She didn't reappear. Something, as far as Ruby knew about her own Blake, wasn't something her semblance could do.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...?" The leader of team RWBY was roughly 75% sure that the Blake on her team couldn't do that. Maybe this world's version had a more evolved semblance? Ruby was lost in confused thought, barely registering the sound of Tock's frustrated huff and equally frustrated punch of her right fist into the ground.​