Fandom Distorted Mirror [IC]

[MyrtenRose]

"Well he's not dead, so he has that going for him" Arthur drawled, before he sighed and glanced to to the side, rubbing at his cheek.

"Other than that though... it was rough. He'll make it though. Full recovery even." He said after a moment, before he glanced sidelong back to Cinder with a small frown. "Speaking of, how are you feeling, about... you know..."

Well, at least there was some comforting news. Tyrian would be just fine despite what that thug had done to him.

That...was a surprising amount of tact, coming from Watts. Not that Cinder didn't appreciate it. "Yeah, yeah. I know the new hair's gonna take some getting used to, okay?" She did her best to crack a grin along with that bad joke. "They just had to cut a lot of it out of the way to deal with..." She fell silent, as if avoiding actively saying it out loud would make it feel better. "...it was all sloppy." Cinder continued with instead. "Figured I might as well have the rest cut too, fully commit to the new..." Her first impulse was to say me but that was shoved down before it got anywhere close to being more than a thought. "...hairstyle." ​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"Qrow...there is nothing that I could say that would properly express the gratitude I have for you. For all three of you. Truly. For what you told me-" Her eyes shifted from him to the Ruby behind him. "-for what you did to help us. In fact I do not think we would all be standing here if it had not been for your assistance. We should all be thankful that you popped up when you did, even if it was not intended on your parts. That is why I called you here as soon as I made sure everything down there was in a satisfactory state. To try and repay you for that kindness, as much as I can. Like I said, your predicament is not my responsibility."

Her eyes returned to Qrow. "I called you all here because I genuinely want to assist you in this matter despite that fact. What's more, I sincerely hope that the time where you are from is not suffering simply because the three of you are not there. That said..." She shook her head. "No, I can't say I've seen anything like this development before. Are you sure there's nothing more you could recall before you awoke here? Any of you?"

"...Right."

One might have been forgiven for thinking the utterance was meant sardonically, but it was clear from his delivery it wasn't that; Qrow had a guarded, almost ambivalent look on his face as he stared the headmistress down, like he didn't know what to feel. He took his hands off the table and slid into one of the provided chairs, unscrewing the cap on his flask again.

"Well it was nice to see a version of events where it all didn't go so south. Now you know what he's after and who his players are, you're in much better shape to start fighting back than we were."

A week was a lot of time to get used to the idea that everything was as it seemed here. He wasn't quite there yet, but he was coming around to it.

"Nothing important," he answered gravely. "Pretty sure I was just... talking."​

 

[MyrtenRose]

He took his hands off the table and slid into one of the provided chairs, unscrewing the cap on his flask again.

There...truly was so much to take in about this. Seeing Cinder was one thing and that much was going to be hard enough to try and approach with an open mind. A good Salem and a bad Ozpin on top of that? She had no clue where to even begin on all that. But there was one thing that she did know where to start with.

In a burst of sudden motion, that flask was smacked down to the floor, inadvertently spilling its contents out onto it. Ruby stood there unflinchingly after she had done that, a mixed look of disappointment and defiance directed over to her uncle. After all this time, after everything they’d gone through...to return to that stuff?

No. Not while she had anything to say about it.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

There...truly was so much to take in about this. Seeing Cinder was one thing and that much was going to be hard enough to try and approach with an open mind. A good Salem and a bad Ozpin on top of that? She had no clue where to even begin on all that. But there was one thing that she did know where to start with.

In a burst of sudden motion, that flask was smacked down to the floor, inadvertently spilling its contents out onto it. Ruby stood there unflinchingly after she had done that, a mixed look of disappointment and defiance directed over to her uncle. After all this time, after everything they’d gone through...to return to that stuff?

No. Not while she had anything to say about it.

"...We'll talk about that later." He promised in a quiet, stern voice, staring at her.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

But when one side of a conflict emerged triumphant, inevitably that meant the other side had not.

With the Beacon CCT tower still operational, global communications remained undamaged. Word spread fast. Beacon remained standing as a bastion of unity, instead of the ruin it should have ended up as. A symbol of man's hubris, a monument to their failures. The attack had been repelled. Not without significant loss, but that hardly counted for anything in his eyes. All that meticulous planning, securing allies, orchestrating the pieces into position...

All for nothing.

He surmised the weight of that failure was why it had taken this long for several key pieces to return. They had entertained the idea of not returning at all. One could hardly blame them. The energy in the room, it was unnerving enough that even the bravest of men would have felt a chill in their bones. He sat at the head of the table, fingers interlaced and a face so unmoving it might have well been carved from stone. One of the chairs spread around the table had a white-haired young woman dressed to the nines. She was doing her best to hide it, but it was clear she feeling apprehensive. Another chair on the opposite side had a blonde woman leaning back into her chair in an almost comfortable slouch, arms crossed over her chest. It was unclear if she was feeling the same apprehension. The other seats were conspicuous in their emptiness.

At the edge of the room, the other four in the room stood there in fear and uncertainty. Nobody spoke up for the longest time, the eerie silence dragging on and on. It lasted so long that at least a couple of them almost dreaded the silence more than they feared anything that they had experienced at the battle of Beacon. Their imaginations ran wild on trying to guess on what he would do, or what he would say. None of them were pretty pictures.

When he finally spoke, the collective sense of relief between the four of them for the uncomfortable silence being broken, that feeling was almost palpable. It didn't last long.

"Do any of you have an explanation for this failure?"

"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."

"Do not keep me waiting."

Pyrrha cleared her throat before stepping forward. "There were...unexpected complications."

"Do tell."

"The...the u-um, Wyvern, for one." It took a lot to unbalance Pyrrha Nikos enough to stumble over her words, but this man could just sit there and stare, and that would be enough. "How fast it got taken out, it wasn't...that is, they shouldn't have had a plan that fast. Not to counter a Grimm that rare. Sir."

"Implying?"

"I...can't say for certain, sir. But I think, somehow, they had been expecting it."

He pulled his hands apart, one hand rubbing at his chin in thought. "Hmm. Anything else?"

"Yes sir. There were...doubles of people present. I saw one such pair myself, fought them. I didn't get the sense that they were just twins or anything like that. They seemed unfamiliar with each other, even initially at odds. What's more, on the way back? Thanks to the footage broadcasted across several news networks and onto our scrolls, we were able to determine that another...double, had been fighting against the Red Masque. It was she that kept the Masque from capturing the Maiden...and it was she that had so easily disposed of the Wyvern. Sir."

However he took that news went unseen, the man having spun around in his seat so that none of them could see his face. But after a few seconds, he spoke again. "Choose one of yourselves."

"Sir?"

"Choose."

"...Myself, sir."

He gave no response himself, but there was a loud *BANG* behind the quartet. The doors slammed open, an elongated arm grabbed hold of Jaune and tugged him into the pitch black darkness, with the doors slamming shut once more. It happened all so fast that the other 3 barely registered it before it was over. Pyrrha herself was one of the stronger assets he possessed, and had an great sense of honor to choose herself when put on the spot. The other two pawns had fought hard...but that one? He had done nothing but observe and even that much, he couldn't see through to the end.

He wasn't going to waste an asset, but neither would he let this slide without punishment. "When you see him again-" Ozpin nodded over to the shut doors.

"-Remember the price of failure."​

"...Mas...ter Ozpin," the platinum-haired woman started in cautious, diplomatic tones to break the ensuing silence, uncrossing her legs and placing both hands on the table with fingers interlaced. Weiss did her best to conceal her unease, and her best was admittedly very good as she leaned in and hoped she hadn't misjudged her value in this room after that horrifying display. No... No, she knew she hadn't. And even if she had, Myrtenaster was resting at her side and she was certain of her ability to cause enough confusion in the room to escape in the event she needed to. Certainly.

"With all due respect, I tried to warn you about your choice of agents for the Beacon mission. The Red Masque is a complete loose cannon, these four are no more than common criminals, and the Shadow Fang... Well, they're just a pack of highly aggressive zealots. You can't depend on those faunus for anything."

Clear blue eyes maintained contact with Ozpin's own, the SDC executive holding her ground without compromising the air of respect inherent to her words.

"You should be deploying your best asset, which is me. Please, I think I have a way to start fixing this. If you'll allow me."​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"...We'll talk about that later." He promised in a quiet, stern voice, staring at her.​

Her look didn't change as she stared at him and she didn't say anything back, but after a few moments she did pull back and stepped over to where she had been before she knocked the flask out of his hands. "...To answer your question...no." Ruby spoke to Salem. "I was training one minute and the next, I woke in the arena. There was no in between."​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"...Mas...ter Ozpin," the platinum-haired woman started in cautious, diplomatic tones to break the ensuing silence, uncrossing her legs and placing both hands on the table with fingers interlaced. Weiss did her best to conceal her unease, and her best was admittedly very good as she leaned in and hoped she hadn't misjudged her value in this room after that horrifying display. No... No, she knew she hadn't. And even if she had, Myrtenaster was resting at her side and she was certain of her ability to cause enough confusion in the room to escape in the event she needed to. Certainly.

"With all due respect, I tried to warn you about your choice of agents for the Beacon mission. The Red Masque is a complete loose cannon, these four are no more than common criminals, and the Shadow Fang... Well, they're just a pack of highly aggressive zealots. You can't depend on those faunus for anything."

Clear blue eyes maintained contact with Ozpin's own, the SDC executive holding her ground without compromising the air of respect inherent to her words.

"You should be deploying your best asset, which is me. Please, I think I have a way to start fixing this. If you'll allow me."​

"..." Nora looked less than pleased to hear that, the fear she felt from Ozpin's mere dark presence replaced by insulted anger. "Common? COMMON???" Nora stomped a few steps towards the Schnee in that chair. "Awfully superior words for some prissy chick in a stupid hat--"

All it took for Nora to shut up and freeze mid-step before she got any closer to Weiss, was the slow creaking sound of those doors behind her swinging open once more. The fear returned, and her boot slowly lowered back to the floor. After that, Nora was quick to step back into line alongside Ren and Pyrrha. Those narrowed glowing red eyes lingered on the ginger crime lord for a second or two longer before both returned to meeting Weiss's gaze.

"Elaborate."

​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"..." Nora looked less than pleased to hear that, the fear she felt from Ozpin's mere dark presence replaced by insulted anger. "Common? COMMON???" Nora stomped a few steps towards the Schnee in that chair. "Awfully superior words for some prissy chick in a stupid hat--"

All it took for Nora to shut up and freeze mid-step before she got any closer to Weiss, was the slow creaking sound of those doors behind her swinging open once more. The fear returned, and her boot slowly lowered back to the floor. After that, Nora was quick to step back into line alongside Ren and Pyrrha. Those narrowed glowing red eyes lingered on the ginger crime lord for a second or two longer before both returned to meeting Weiss's gaze.

"Elaborate."

​

"I'm sorry, did something give you the impression you could speak to me?" She tossed towards Nora in a tone so cordial it was insulting, completely unthreatened by the crime boss's ranting and posturing in contrast to the deference she showed Ozpin. Refocusing her attention on him, she sniffed, a bit put off by the interruption. "The Schnee Dust Company will naturally be extending its full support to the brave survivors who fought to protect the kingdom of Vale. Of course, while I'm there I'll duly inform headmistress Salem that, as the Belladonna girl's crimes have affected our kingdom, my family, more than any other, I intend to carry out my duty as councilwoman and transport the prisoner back to Atlas to await justice. Unfortunately, the Grimm will have been waiting for me... I'll barely escape with my life."

Her doe-eyed, shaken confession was somehow convincing even in this room, to say nothing of how it'd play on television; everyone loved a damsel. The irony of her of all people being the one to carry out a jailbreak for the faunus extremist wasn't lost on her, judging from the lordly disdain on her face, but she was trying to subtly indicate what she was willing to put aside in service to the Grimm's master.

"She pulled the Shadow Fang back early, so the majority of their forces are still intact. With the one they follow back in play they could still be useful, and I can spend my time at the Academy learning more about these 'doppelgangers', along with whatever on earth happened to miss Rose."

She settled back in her chair primly and folded her arms, an obvious self-satisfied air to her countenance for being the one to offer solutions in a time of crisis.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"I'm sorry, did something give you the impression you could speak to me?" She tossed towards Nora in a tone so cordial it was insulting, completely unthreatened by the crime boss's ranting and posturing in contrast to the deference she showed Ozpin. Refocusing her attention on him, she sniffed, a bit put off by the interruption. "The Schnee Dust Company will naturally be extending its full support to the brave survivors who fought to protect the kingdom of Vale. Of course, while I'm there I'll duly inform headmistress Salem that, as the Belladonna girl's crimes have affected our kingdom, my family, more than any other, I intend to carry out my duty as councilwoman and transport the prisoner back to Atlas to await justice. Unfortunately, the Grimm will have been waiting for me... I'll barely escape with my life."

Her doe-eyed, shaken confession was somehow convincing even in this room, to say nothing of how it'd play on television; everyone loved a damsel. The irony of her of all people being the one to carry out a jailbreak for the faunus extremist wasn't lost on her, judging from the lordly disdain on her face, but she was trying to subtly indicate what she was willing to put aside in service to the Grimm's master.

"She pulled the Shadow Fang back early, so the majority of their forces are still intact. With the one they follow back in play they could still be useful, and I can spend my time at the Academy learning more about these 'doppelgangers', along with whatever on earth happened to miss Rose."

She settled back in her chair primly and folded her arms, an obvious self-satisfied air to her countenance for being the one to offer solutions in a time of crisis.​

Nora audibly gritted her teeth in anger at that reply but otherwise toed the line.

"A sound idea, Councilwoman Schnee. Very well, you have--"

"Sir, if I may?"

He did not seem overly fond of being interrupted, but he nevertheless gave leave to the Mistral champion to continue. Pyrrha gave a curt nod in thanks before continuing. "Belladonna is not the only prisoner worth freeing. One of the doppelgangers I fought, the deadlier one, she was an ally of circumstance. Not a true friend to the others. I believe her capability in combat, along with her dangerous semblance, could prove to be of great value. I can personally attest to her prowess. With the right motivation or a large enough stick, I think she could be pressed into service."

"...Understood." He glanced towards Weiss and nodded his assent. "With Blake brought back into the fold, perhaps with this dangerous doppelganger of yours, and Schnee ensuring we are not left out of the loop on these doubles, as well as learning what fate has befallen our Red Masque? Your utter failure could be mitigated and all the loose ends of this fiasco would be wrapped up. Save for one." At this point he stood up from his throne, striding past the table until he was only a few feet in front of Nikos, with Valkyrie and Ren flanking her on either side.

"Tell me you managed to uncover the identity of the Fall Maiden." He spoke, his voice dangerously low and clearly expressing that a disappointing answer would be...problematic at best.

"Yes sir." Pyrrha informed, all three of them blatantly relieved that they could give an affirmative to that. "Cinder Fall. 15 years old, a first year of Beacon. I believe her early admission to the academy is solely because of that unique status. I can confirm she has the power, but it is raw. She's largely untrained on how to properly harness it to its maximum potential. I was able to take out one of her eyes during the attack."

"The Fall Maiden is Cinder...Fall." He repeated, seeming faintly amused on how on the nose that was. "I see." He turned away, mind already deep in thought on how to handle the matter of this maiden and gain access to the vault to secure the relic, now that the direct approach had gone so abysmally.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

Nora audibly gritted her teeth in anger at that reply but otherwise toed the line.

"A sound idea, Councilwoman Schnee. Very well, you have--"

"Sir, if I may?"

He did not seem overly fond of being interrupted, but he nevertheless gave leave to the Mistral champion to continue. Pyrrha gave a curt nod in thanks before continuing. "Belladonna is not the only prisoner worth freeing. One of the doppelgangers I fought, the deadlier one, she was an ally of circumstance. Not a true friend to the others. I believe her capability in combat, along with her dangerous semblance, could prove to be of great value. I can personally attest to her prowess. With the right motivation or a large enough stick, I think she could be pressed into service."

"...Understood." He glanced towards Weiss and nodded his assent. "With Blake brought back into the fold, perhaps with this dangerous doppelganger of yours, and Schnee ensuring we are not left out of the loop on these doubles, as well as learning what fate has befallen our Red Masque? Your utter failure could be mitigated and all the loose ends of this fiasco would be wrapped up. Save for one." At this point he stood up from his throne, striding past the table until he was only a few feet in front of Nikos, with Valkyrie and Ren flanking her on either side.

"Tell me you managed to uncover the identity of the Fall Maiden." He spoke, his voice dangerously low and clearly expressing that a disappointing answer would be...problematic at best.

"Yes sir." Pyrrha informed, all three of them blatantly relieved that they could give an affirmative to that. "Cinder Fall. 15 years old, a first year of Beacon. I believe her early admission to the academy is solely because of that unique status. I can confirm she has the power, but it is raw. She's largely untrained on how to properly harness it to its maximum potential. I was able to take out one of her eyes during the attack."

"The Fall Maiden is Cinder...Fall." He repeated, seeming faintly amused on how on the nose that was. "I see." He turned away, mind already deep in thought on how to handle the matter of this maiden and gain access to the vault to secure the relic, now that the direct approach had gone so abysmally.​

Weiss meant what she had said earlier about the four of them being common criminals, but she actually held a degree of admiration for Pyrrha Nikos, whose professionalism was worthy of respect and whose mistakes during the offensive had been minimal—more respect, certainly, than she reserved for the company the Mistralian kept. That said, she had actually been speaking in their defence earlier. A failure was much easier to forgive when the burden could be shifted to the orchestrator for expecting any more of his pawns, and her belittling of their master's inner circle was her gentle way of attempting to impart that notion, without actually speaking out of turn. After bowing her head graciously to Ozpin, the councilwoman watched the exchange play out with lips pursed in thought, eventually chiming in with a thought of her own.

"Miss Nikos claimed the duplicate she spoke of had an illusory semblance of some kind. If she's right, and we can enlist her services, we'd have a proxy at our disposal who can become anyone, infiltrate anywhere. I'm guessing even a heavily-guarded hospital room."

She nodded, as if reaching a satisfactory conclusion in her own mind, and rose to stand.

"I'll take my leave then. As per usual, I won't fail you."

Her curtsey was ladylike, polite, perfect in execution and form. But if ever any dared hold their gaze on the Schnee prodigy when her public facade was down, even for just a second too long, the shiver that crept down their spine was telling, the sensation that brushed their hearts undeniable. It was in the eyes, the way they weighed you as if the number of atoms in your being were the most fascinating thing about you, like you were nothing more than a song she awaited the end of.

It was cold.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

Her curtsey was ladylike, polite, perfect in execution and form. But if ever any dared hold their gaze on the Schnee prodigy when her public facade was down, even for just a second too long, the shiver that crept down their spine was telling, the sensation that brushed their hearts undeniable. It was in the eyes, the way they weighed you as if the number of atoms in your being were the most fascinating thing about you, like you were a song she awaited the end of.

"Your hat's still stupid."​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"Your hat's still stupid."​

"It's designer, gutter trash." She snapped as she stormed out.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"It's designer, gutter trash." She snapped as she stormed out.​

"It's a bucket with a pointy flap." She huffed, glad the stuck-up councilwoman was leaving before turning her attention towards Ozpin.. "So what about us, what do we get to do while prissy princess plays infiltrator? There has to be something."

"...Beyond counting your blessings that you are not forced to endure the same treatment as Mr. Arc?"

"...……..yes?" Nora answered, trying extremely hard to not sound like she had an attitude or anything like that.

"For you three? Nothing. After that fiasco, and with global communications still functional, wanted posters with your faces have probably been seen by half of Remnant by now. You need to lay low for the time being. However-" He turned to the other person who hadn't bothered to even speak once thus far, still slouching in her chair like she didn't have a care in the world. "-Yang. I do have a task for you."

"I'm all ears."

The rest went unheard, as Ozpin dismissed the other three.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

Don't listen to her. You wear it sublimely.​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

Well, at least there was some comforting news. Tyrian would be just fine despite what that thug had done to him.

That...was a surprising amount of tact, coming from Watts. Not that Cinder didn't appreciate it. "Yeah, yeah. I know the new hair's gonna take some getting used to, okay?" She did her best to crack a grin along with that bad joke. "They just had to cut a lot of it out of the way to deal with..." She fell silent, as if avoiding actively saying it out loud would make it feel better. "...it was all sloppy." Cinder continued with instead. "Figured I might as well have the rest cut too, fully commit to the new..." Her first impulse was to say me but that was shoved down before it got anywhere close to being more than a thought. "...hairstyle." ​

He snorted "Yes, well, its hideous. You should fire your stylist. I'll be sure to give whoever's responsible for your 'haircut' proper recompense the next time we meet." He snarked as he turned his gaze towards the television, as yet another news team played highschool debate club over the attack on Beacon.

"I say, I say I tell you, this attack was a coordinated effort! I don't care if the White Fang were involved, like what, a few faunus die and all of a sudden its impossible they had a hand in it? No way, all of these people were after something, and I bet you-"

Arthur flicked a finger and the television turned off as he rolled his eyes. "None of those idiots have any idea what really happened. No need to fill your head with all that noise. Especially-" He started as he glanced down at one hand, rubbing two fingers together in a lazy fidget "-since we both know at least one of the reasons it happened."

He wanted to do this as a team. He still felt as if he was responsible for what happened to all of them, for how badly they'd came out the other side, and it gnawed at him. Yet not quite as bad as what else was bothering him; why his team had suddenly found themselves in the middle of it. Why they'd been targeted by three of the masterminds of the night.

Or more specifically, why...

"They were after you." He stated as he eyes glanced back up to meet Cinder's own gaze, practically daring her to contradict him.

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"I am confident we can make that happen."
​

Yang fistpumped, pointedly doing everything in her power to ignore Raven's entire corner of the room. Another successful cop caper.

"...Right."

One might have been forgiven for thinking the utterance was meant sardonically, but it was clear from his delivery it wasn't that; Qrow had a guarded, almost ambivalent look on his face as he stared the headmistress down, like he didn't know what to feel. He took his hands off the table and slid into one of the provided chairs, unscrewing the cap on his flask again.

"Well it was nice to see a version of events where it all didn't go so south. Now you know what he's after and who his players are, you're in much better shape to start fighting back than we were."

A week was a lot of time to get used to the idea that everything was as it seemed here. He wasn't quite there yet, but he was coming around to it.

"Nothing important," he answered gravely. "Pretty sure I was just... talking."​

She hummed as she scratched at her chin, doing her best to concentrate while she turned her gaze towards the ceiling. The last thing she remembered was...

...aw man. If they didn't get back at the same time they left (And she refused to entertain the notion that they wouldn't get back. Not because she was 100% sure they would, but because if she didn't tell herself that she was, she wasn't sure she'd keep it together here) then Blake was gonna be so, soooo mad at her for dumping her with FNKI alone.

"...Yea. Same, I was just having a conversation" She said, sounding far, far sadder about that then the mundane subject matter should've allowed.

There...truly was so much to take in about this. Seeing Cinder was one thing and that much was going to be hard enough to try and approach with an open mind. A good Salem and a bad Ozpin on top of that? She had no clue where to even begin on all that. But there was one thing that she did know where to start with.

In a burst of sudden motion, that flask was smacked down to the floor, inadvertently spilling its contents out onto it. Ruby stood there unflinchingly after she had done that, a mixed look of disappointment and defiance directed over to her uncle. After all this time, after everything they’d gone through...to return to that stuff?

No. Not while she had anything to say about it.​

She also did her best to ignore that, and failed because count on her sister to take direct action in the rare situation where Yang had found herself unable to bring herself to, and she shot her sister a flash of a grateful smile before she cleared her throat.

"Soooo... it wasn't anything we did. Which is honestly at least a little surprising to me, is it surprising to anyone else?" She asked, not bothering to wait for an answer before she shook her head. "Could it have been one of the relics? Am I allowed to talk about the relics? I'm gonna talk about the relics, The staff can power a whole flying city and the lamp can know anything, I would only be soooort of surprised if one could mess with the time flow." she suggested with a frown

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"..."

Roman looked towards Neo and then back at the ice cream.

Then back at the ice cream and then his partner...

Ugh, if only that other Neo hadn't gotten arrested for, uh, murder was one of the charges that Roman heard-oof. Roman wondered if she'd have been willing to give her team's leader a kiss on the cheek or something if he was the one who asked her. Roman seemed to have a way with girls with multi-colored hair. Mercury's was grey which looked great on him but to be honest, he was a bit too intimidating for what Roman had in mind. Which would become clear in just a second.

Emerald's hair was green which meant Roman's chances were lower but...

"Well, I'd say it's worth just about everything...but tell you what." Roman looked over to Emerald and grinned. "Once I get outta here: you, me, dinner? Surely, the potential of a date with yours truly is worth taking that ice cream and handing over that delicious frozen treat..."

Of course, Roman was totally lyng and planned to have the ice cream all to himself. ...Okay, maybe he'd share with Neo. The two of them DID save his life. But he softened up Pyrrha'a fists for them! With his face, mind you...


Roman turned his attenton towards Neo. Adorable little wallet snatcher that she was.

"Nailed it."​

Emerald's eyes widened a bit at the request, the habitual thief seeming to mull the offer over for a moment before she offered a meek shrug. "O-Okay. How'd you know the one thing I ever wanted was a date with you, Roman?"

"What?" Mercury's dismay sounded more confused than anything, like when you died in a video game in a stupid way.

"Sorry, Mercury. He's twice the man you are, also I think he should be team leader now. Also I like girls, too, and Neo told me she was down for it. C'mere, you-" She said as she bounded over to leave the ice cream on his desk and offer him the real prize, leaning in to plant one on his lips.

However long that lasted before Roman opened his eyes and realized he was macking on Professor Port was up to him. The tickle of the mustache was an early clue.

Back in reality, Mercury passed a hand back and forth over Roman's face to little response as he lived out the fantasy however he chose to. He tried to spoon some of the ice cream into his catatonic mouth, but unfortunately it mostly ended up slathered over the lower part of his face.

"Yup. He's dead."

"Not yet. Is he serious? What makes him think that's happening, ever?" She asked, shooting Neo a look of genuine disbelief.

"Eh, he's just trying to be me. I'd feel almost flattered if he was better at it." Merc answered in a pitying sort of way, flying another spoonful in like an airplane to see if this one made it past his lips. Nope.​

Neo put up her hands and slowly shook her head at Emerald's question. Roman talked for her when she needed him to, but the situation was rarely if ever reversed. Sure she'd help him out of whatever mess he might've gotten in, but explain the reasons? Attempt to make sense of one of any given multitude of questionable decisions? No, that was squarely in his own court.

"Heh, well you know I met another Neo today. Still around the same height and not even close to being as great as ours..." Roman started. "But she was all over me and now you can be too.~" Roman held his arms out and prepped for that hug + kiss.

Mm...Well, he'd imagined Emerald would have been a better kisser than this-

The...The bushiness...The tickling feeling...

"aaaaaaAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH-"

~In reality~

View attachment 678943​

She didn't even bother to cover up the snickering that snuck out from her at her partner's distress. If anything, she was just happy he was well enough to be teased. None of them had gotten put through the ringer the same way team WTCH had, but Roman had definitely gotten the worst of it, and he was lucky that it was only as bad as it was, not worse. Seeing him laid up in a hospital bed, fighting someone Neo should've taken down from the start, well...

-----------

~The Night after the attack~

Neo sat curled up in the chair next to her partner's hospital bed. It was late, far past visiting hours, but no one thought anything of another nurse making her rounds through halls. She watched his slow, painful breathing as his lungs pressed against his broken ribs, and she idly traced the pattern of bruises that covered his face with her eyes.

This was her fault.

It was a miserable truth that sat in her gut. If she hadn't been so surprised, so angry to see some other her trying to steal her best friend, then maybe her best friend wouldn't be like this. The other Neo hadn't been a danger until Neo made her one, and while they'd been thwacking at each other like a pair of angry cats, Roman had stood up against the real danger present. And paid for it. He defended her with words when she couldn't, and she was supposed to defend him from things like this. Fight the fights he wasn't strong enough to. She sniffled and wiped her tears on her sleeve, a rare thankfulness towards her forced silence for stopping her from waking her partner from the sleep he needed with an endlesss stream of apologies.

----------------

She liked to think she took it really well : )

She finally took pity on her partner's distress, and Em got a gentle thwack to the back of the head to break her concentration, and Mercury found the spoon and ice cream snatched out of his hands from a Neo who hadn't been where she was moments earlier.

 

[MyrtenRose]

He snorted "Yes, well, its hideous. You should fire your stylist. I'll be sure to give whoever's responsible for your 'haircut' proper recompense the next time we meet." He snarked as he turned his gaze towards the television, as yet another news team played highschool debate club over the attack on Beacon.

"I say, I say I tell you, this attack was a coordinated effort! I don't care if the White Fang were involved, like what, a few faunus die and all of a sudden its impossible they had a hand in it. No way, all of these people were after something, and I bet you-"

Arthur flicked a finger and the television turned off as he rolled his eyes. "None of those idiots have any idea what really happened. No need to fill your head with all that noise. Especially-" He started as he glanced down at one hand, rubbing two fingers together in a lazy fidget "-since we both know at least one of the reasons it happened."

He wanted to do this as a team. He still felt as if he was responsible for what happened to all of them, for how badly they'd came out the other side, and it gnawed at him. Yet not quite as bad as what else was bothering him; why his team had suddenly found themselves in the middle of it. Why they'd been targeted by three of the masterminds of the night.

Or more specifically, why...

"They were after you." He stated as he eyes glanced back up to meet Cinder's own gaze, practically daring her to contradict him.

"Oh shut up, Watts. It isn't that bad." Cinder snorted. But her more chill mood was quick to vanish once he turned off the TV. "You don't have to tell me that." She hesitated with a sigh. "Both of us know, huh? I guess nothing gets by you and that mind of yours. Yeah. They were after me." She nodded in solemn confirmation. "It's why I demanded you get over here. Headmistress Salem, Professor Goodwitch, General Ironwood, Raven...they wanted me to keep it a secret. Everything they told me, they made me swear to not tell anyone else who wasn't currently in the room. But--" She shook her head. "I just can't do it. Knowing that everything that happened that night, everyone that died...it was all just to get at me...I can't keep it a secret. Not from you guys. Not from my team. It'd tear me apart inside if I tried."

Her golden eyes met his.

"They had me brought here two years earlier than most people would be because I inherited a gift far beyond any semblance. They watched me over the course of these last few months, and not just in their capacity as professors and teachers. They wanted to judge if I was the right one."

Cinder rubbed at her arm nervously. "Guess they figured I was. Not all that long ago, they brought me down...there's this whole secret vault beneath Beacon Tower, known to maybe a handful of people at the most. Everything they told me while we were down there...well. You saw me up there. When that thug was twisting Tyrian's own stinger into his shoulder with that insane grin. That thing I did, that wasn't my semblance. Turns out this power..." She lifted up her hands, tiny embers of flame too small to light anything on fire crackling to life in her palms. "...I'm one of the most important people in the world because I have it. You know the fairy tale, the Story of the Seasons? Not so much just a tale. Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall. The four Maidens...they...we...possess incredibly powerful magic. But that wasn't why they after me. Or not entirely, anyway." Cinder exhaled deeply.

"The vault down below, there's a door that only the Fall Maiden can open. That only I can open. They wanted what's behind that door. A relic of great power. Why they wanted it...I don't know. I only know that Salem and the rest told me it was imperative that the enemy doesn't get their hands on it." Cinder fell silent and observed Arthur to gauge his reaction to all that, knowing from personal and very recent experience that it was a lot of information to get dropped on somebody all at once.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"...Right."

One might have been forgiven for thinking the utterance was meant sardonically, but it was clear from his delivery it wasn't that; Qrow had a guarded, almost ambivalent look on his face as he stared the headmistress down, like he didn't know what to feel. He took his hands off the table and slid into one of the provided chairs, unscrewing the cap on his flask again.

"Well it was nice to see a version of events where it all didn't go so south. Now you know what he's after and who his players are, you're in much better shape to start fighting back than we were."

A week was a lot of time to get used to the idea that everything was as it seemed here. He wasn't quite there yet, but he was coming around to it.

"Nothing important," he answered gravely. "Pretty sure I was just... talking."​

Her look didn't change as she stared at him and she didn't say anything back, but after a few moments she did pull back and stepped over to where she had been before she knocked the flask out of his hands. "...To answer your question...no." Ruby spoke to Salem. "I was training one minute and the next, I woke in the arena. There was no in between."​

Yang fistpumped, pointedly doing everything in her power to ignore Raven's entire corner of the room. Another successful cop caper.



She hummed as she scratched at her chin, doing her best to concentrate while she turned her gaze towards the ceiling. The last thing she remembered was...

...aw man. If they didn't get back at the same time they left (And she refused to entertain the notion that they wouldn't get back. Not because she was 100% sure they would, but because if she didn't tell herself that she was, she wasn't sure she'd keep it together here) then Blake was gonna be so, soooo mad at her for dumping her with FNKI alone.

"...Yea. Same, I was just having a conversation" She said, sounding far, far sadder about that then the mundane subject matter should've allowed.




She also did her best to ignore that, and failed because count on her sister to take direct action in the rare situation where Yang had found herself unable to bring herself to, and she shot her sister a flash of a grateful smile before she cleared her throat.

"Soooo... it wasn't anything we did. Which is honestly at least a little surprising to me, is it surprising to anyone else?" She asked, not bothering to wait for an answer before she shook her head. "Could it have been one of the relics? Am I allowed to talk about the relics? I'm gonna talk about the relics, The staff can power a whole flying city and the lamp can know anything, I would only be soooort of surprised if one could mess with the time flow." she suggested with a frown

"...Okay." So none of them knew a thing. They had been doing regular everyday sort of thing, and then...almost with a snap of the fingers, they were here. "I--oh." Salem blinked in surprise. Everyone in the room who wasn't Ruby, Qrow or Yang did likewise. "You know about the relics. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Beacon fell where you're from. The world changed, and I imagine plans had to change with it. Well." Salem sounded more relieved than concerned. "At least that spares me from a lengthy explanation on them. I was thinking of the relics myself. Since none of you know how or why this...event, for lack of a better word, occurred? It seems to me that the logical course of action would be to get the relic of knowledge from Haven. If anything would have answers..." She trailed off, confident that they would get what she was driving at.

"However, we don't know where the Spring Maiden is. But since you referenced the lamp, I take it you would at least have some inkling?"​

 

[MidwayLives]

She didn't even bother to cover up the snickering that snuck out from her at her partner's distress. If anything, she was just happy he was well enough to be teased. None of them had gotten put through the ringer the same way team WTCH had, but Roman had definitely gotten the worst of it, and he was lucky that it was only as bad as it was, not worse. Seeing him laid up in a hospital bed, fighting someone Neo should've taken down from the start, well...

"-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-"

Still screamin!
​

~The Night after the attack~

Neo sat curled up in the chair next to her partner's hospital bed. It was late, far past visiting hours, but no one thought anything of another nurse making her rounds through halls. She watched his slow, painful breathing as his lungs pressed against his broken ribs, and she idly traced the pattern of bruises that covered his face with her eyes.

This was her fault.

It was a miserable truth that sat in her gut. If she hadn't been so surprised, so angry to see some other her trying to steal her best friend, then maybe her best friend wouldn't be like this. The other Neo hadn't been a danger until Neo made her one, and while they'd been thwacking at each other like a pair of angry cats, Roman had stood up against the real danger present. And paid for it. He defended her with words when she couldn't, and she was supposed to defend him from things like this. Fight the fights he wasn't strong enough to. She sniffled and wiped her tears on her sleeve, a rare thankfulness towards her forced silence for stopping her from waking her partner from the sleep he needed with an endlesss stream of apologies.

As Roman slept and dreamed, thoughts of all kind ran through his mind

Mostly aimed at himself.

'If I was just a bit stronger, a bit quicker, maybe...nah. Life had it's design set for me. Devilishly handsome, smoothtalker(well, just with Neo...), and charismatic to a fault. But fighting was never going to be a strong suit. I was-well, still AM the kinda guy who let's my words speak louder than my actions. All this huntsman crap, all this...It's like something out of a children's book. A hero goes from village to village protecting the innocent and weak who can't fend for themselves. Did I think I could do that?'

'Hell no!'

His thoughts went silent for a moment or two...

'I did it for her. We'd been there from the start, I'd fend off the dicks who'd be rude to her, bully her for clout with their buddies, that sorta thing. She'd have my back if fights broke out but most of the time? They never did, I'd keep that from happening. People respected me, liked me....Sometimes...'

His normally bustling train of thought slowed once again.

'I wonder if my teammates do. Em's great, hot, not totally outta my league but..., Merc? Great guy, sorta feels like having a brother would be like.'

Then the dreamscape shifted to better images of him and the one who'd been by his side through it all.

And he by hers.

Always.
​

She liked to think she took it really well : )

She finally took pity on her partner's distress, and Em got a gentle thwack to the back of the head to break her concentration, and Mercury found the spoon and ice cream snatched out of his hands from a Neo who hadn't been where she was moments earlier

Even after the illusion had broken...

'-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-Oh! Phew..."

Noticing the ice cream dripping down his chin, he angrily wiped it away with his arm.

'Geez, ask for ONE kiss and you get put through the wringer. I think I'd rather go a couple more rounds with that red-haired chick than go through THAT again!"

Noticing his partner had been the one for the save, Roman grinned and gave her a thumbsup.

"That's the second time you've saved me recently, Neo. Thanks, partner."
​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"Oh shut up, Watts. It isn't that bad." Cinder snorted. But her more chill mood was quick to vanish once he turned off the TV. "You don't have to tell me that." She hesitated with a sigh. "Both of us know, huh? I guess nothing gets by you and that mind of yours. Yeah. They were after me." She nodded in solemn confirmation. "It's why I demanded you get over here. Headmistress Salem, Professor Goodwitch, General Ironwood, Raven...they wanted me to keep it a secret. Everything they told me, they made me swear to not tell anyone else who wasn't currently in the room. But--" She shook her head. "I just can't do it. Knowing that everything that happened that night, everyone that died...it was all just to get at me...I can't keep it a secret. Not from you guys. Not from my team. It'd tear me apart inside if I tried."

Her golden eyes met his.

"They had me brought here two years earlier than most people would be because I inherited a gift far beyond any semblance. They watched me over the course of these last few months, and not just in their capacity as professors and teachers. They wanted to judge if I was the right one."

Cinder rubbed at her arm nervously. "Guess they figured I was. Not all that long ago, they brought me down...there's this whole secret vault beneath Beacon Tower, known to maybe a handful of people at the most. Everything they told me while we were down there...well. You saw me up there. When that thug was twisting Tyrian's own stinger into his shoulder with that insane grin. That thing I did, that wasn't my semblance. Turns out this power..." She lifted up her hands, tiny embers of flame too small to light anything on fire crackling to life in her palms. "...I'm one of the most important people in the world because I have it. You know the fairy tale, the Story of the Seasons? Not so much just a tale. Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall. The four Maidens...they...we...possess incredibly powerful magic. But that wasn't why they after me. Or not entirely, anyway." Cinder exhaled deeply.

"The vault down below, there's a door that only the Fall Maiden can open. That only I can open. They wanted what's behind that door. A relic of great power. Why they wanted it...I don't know. I only know that Salem and the rest told me it was imperative that the enemy doesn't get their hands on it." Cinder fell silent and observed Arthur to gauge his reaction to all that, knowing from personal and very recent experience that it was a lot of information to get dropped on somebody all at once.​

"Oh."

For while, that was all Cinder got out of Watts, his eyes staring ahead to the middle distance with his fingers clasped in front of him, anything short of a major attempt to snap him from his thoughts met with utter ignorance.

That was... A lot.

It would certainly explain a few things. Why he'd been stuck with a literal child as a partner. Why said literal child was such a powerful ally, and why they always seemed to find themselves in the orbit of some very powerful people. It filled quite a few gaps in his knowledge, answered half a dozen secrets, and tied it all up in a neat little bow for him for him to parce.

The problem was that the bow was labelled 'Magic is real and almost everything you knew about Beacon was a lie.'

"...Hm."

He finally made a noise in an attempt to shake himself from that thought spiral, and he cleared his throat and pulled at his shirt cuffs. "Well. That's... Certainly not what I expected." What exactly had he been expecting that would've explained this? He wasn't sure. But not fucking this.

"...If that is true, then... what do they intend to do with you now?" He found himself asking, a worried edge to his voice.

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"...Okay." So none of them knew a thing. They had been doing regular everyday sort of thing, and then...almost with a snap of the fingers, they were here. "I--oh." Salem blinked in surprise. Everyone in the room who wasn't Ruby, Qrow or Yang did likewise. "You know about the relics. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Beacon fell where you're from. The world changed, and I imagine plans had to change with it. Well." Salem sounded more relieved than concerned. "At least that spares me from a lengthy explanation on them. I was thinking of the relics myself. Since none of you know how or why this...event, for lack of a better word, occurred? It seems to me that the logical course of action would be to get the relic of knowledge from Haven. If anything would have answers..." She trailed off, confident that they would get what she was driving at.

Yang's eyes shot open in delight as she slammed her fist into her prosethetic palm "Oh yea! That's perfect! We just zip over to Haven and bam, questions?" She let her hands spread out with a smooth grin

"Answered."

Not only that, getting the relic would be way, waaaay easier this time, because they had the spring maiden right-

"However, we don't know where the Spring Maiden is. But since you referenced the lamp, I take it you would at least have some inkling?"

Wait what.

Yang's face scrunched up in a confused frown, the gears turning in her head as she tried to parse that sentence. "Are... are you really sure you don't?"

Her eyes snapped up to Raven's accusingly, her arms crossed

"Like... really, REALLY sure? Absolutely positive??? The answer isn't right under your nose???"

 

[MyrtenRose]

Wait what.

Yang's face scrunched up in a confused frown, the gears turning in her head as she tried to parse that sentence. "Are... are you really sure you don't?"

Her eyes snapped up to Raven's accusingly, her arms crossed

"Like... really, REALLY sure? Absolutely positive??? The answer isn't right under your nose???"

Raven was suddenly thankful she had managed to regain her composure before this. "..." "..." That reply threw both Raven and Salem for a loop, albeit for entirely different reasons. "What? I'm not--" "Ahem. While this may ring different for your world, here...I assure you that Raven is not the Spring Maiden."​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"Well. That's... Certainly not what I expected."

"Yeah. That was pretty much how I took it too. The first time hearing it...I'll admit, a part of me thought they had all somehow lost their minds. But...I can feel the power in me. It really is something else. That much at least I know for certain is true."​

"...If that is true, then... what do they intend to do with you now?" He found himself asking, a worried edge to his voice.

"I don't know, to be honest. Probably try to keep me safe at all costs. Kind of like they're doing now-" She pointed at the guard outside this hospital room. "-but obviously to a greater degree. Just because the people behind the attack failed this time, doesn't mean they won't try again. But...I'll admit, that's not what I want to do. The people who orchestrated that attack wanted to get to me. Everybody that died, those deaths...they're dead because of me. I can't just sit here and not do anything. I feel...the people who were leading that attack, the ones that weren't caught. They can't just get away with it."​

 

[Gus Gungus]

Wait what.

Yang's face scrunched up in a confused frown, the gears turning in her head as she tried to parse that sentence. "Are... are you really sure you don't?"

Her eyes snapped up to Raven's accusingly, her arms crossed

"Like... really, REALLY sure? Absolutely positive??? The answer isn't right under your nose???"

Raven was suddenly thankful she had managed to regain her composure before this. "..." "..." That reply threw both Raven and Salem for a loop, albeit for entirely different reasons. "What? I'm not--" "Ahem. While this may ring different for your world, here...I assure you that Raven is not the Spring Maiden."

Thud.

That was the sound of Qrow's head hitting Salem's desk, with just enough force to set her stationary quaking as he digested this new information. Jinn was a good idea, one that had previously occurred to him during the FIVE DAYS of hell waiting to get this meeting, but he'd almost been reluctant to bring it up in case his stupid luck worked its charm. Turned out it didn't even matter.

"That's just great. 'Course it's not you in the timeline you could actually do some good with it," he levelled at Raven accusingly, though he actually had a disbelieving smirk on his face out of sheer incredulity just how terrible that revelation actually was. Generations had gone by without a maiden being discovered. If getting home hinged on that, they were gonna be waiting a lot longer than five days. Still, by all accounts they found themselves in a world where up was down and left was right; By that logic...

"What about the name Vernal? That ring any bells to anybody?"

​