Fandom Distorted Mirror [IC]

[MyrtenRose]

"We've got one or two advantages of our own. No one freak out, but there's... someone here to talk. Someone I think might be of help."

Salem's office doors slid open, and the incongruous face of a Grimm strode into the headmistress of Beacon Academy's office. The face just below the mask was every bit as fearsome as the one it wore, an expression befitting that of a warrior surrounded by bitter enemies as Eve Taurus dumped the nullified Red Masque at her feet and held her down with a boot on the spine, pointedly staring Yang in the eyes.

"Yes, humans. Let's talk."​

Watts blinked and turned around as the doors slammed open, slightly reaching for his pistol as this was far from the sort of meeting that just anyone should be barging in on, given the secrets of the universe being discussed and what not. He blinked again when he saw that, yes, it really was the leader of the White Fang standing there. and then one more time when he saw who had been tossed to the ground.

"...Ah! Miss Rose. How nice to finally see you again, after seeing you twice since the last time we saw you- ack!"

Watts was shoved aside in the midst of what he thought was some very clever wordplay, and the temperature of the room seemed to rise a few degrees.

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Yang saw red.

She knew that this wasn't her world. She'd just spent a deeply awkward and painful conversation with Raven reminding herself of that. That wasn't her Ruby. This wasn't Adam Taurus. None of the people in this room that weren't her Ruby and Qrow were people she should've had any attachment or hate for outside of maintaining basic human morals.

But you could only look at things objectively to a point. There was only so much that you could let slide. And Taurus busting into a room with her little baby sister, with a bloody stump where her arm used to be, clearly itching for a fight, was well past whatever line Yang had internally set for herself, and she strode forward with her fists balled at her side and seemingly more than willing to meet Eve's aggression head on, regardless of who the audience would be for that rematch

"What. Did. You. Do to her?"

Well then.

Suffice it to say, this was not even remotely within the realm of things Salem saw happening. One of the members of the White Fang(the leader no less), coming in with a captive in tow and dropping her to the floor. Not just any captive either, the Red Masque herself. Glynda started to move from Salem's side, but the headmistress was quick to hold up a hand to bar her way, a slight shake of the head following shortly after. "Stop." Salem barked with all the authority and gravitas that befit one in charge of a huntsman academy, steely blue eyes focusing on Yang and Eve.

"Understand this, there will not be any fighting here. Eve Taurus would be foolish to try, being this plainly outnumbered. Do not force it, Yang." Salem left zero room for discussion on that matter. She sat up straighter in her chair as she looked more towards Eve. "If you want to talk, then I welcome it. I will listen to anything you have to say and let you listen to our discussion as you will, but not like this. You will remove your boot from your prisoner and allow us to call any necessary medical aid for her-" Salem glanced at Glynda, who nodded. "-or I will personally throw you out of my office. Your choice."

Cinder didn't know what to say or do in this tense situation, simply staying put where she was and watching the scene unfold. Ruby however, was just as quick as her sister to move towards the Red Masque, lowering herself to kneeling down near her dark counterpart's face. "Hey. Are you okay?" She whispered, trying to determine if she was even conscious.

Raven felt rather insulted that her look had been stolen, but that was neither here nor there. She didn't move from where she was either. She hadn't missed Salem's intervention when Glynda had moved to step in, so it seems that she wanted to play this out, however it would go, and Raven wasn't keen to argue with the boss.

​

 

[MyrtenRose]

The dimly lit room was bathed an briefly illuminated an eerie white as a glyph of a more specialist nature materialised behind her.

She preferred not to look at the creature that emerged. It was an ugly, unnatural thing, a floating bulb with teeth where teeth didn't need to be, a mass of tentacles dangling from its central mass as it clicked and chirped. The most unnerving thing was the eye. It pulsed, a tint of blue mingled with the white when called forth as a summon, and always followed the closest living thing no matter where it was in the room.

They could also transmit messages. Somehow. She didn't want to think about how that worked.

"Belladonna and two of the doppelgangers are in my custody. We'll be boarding a shuttle to your territory shortly."

"...two?" He curiously questioned, sitting reclined into his throne as he looked into another of the same kind of Grimm, the image of Weiss standing out clear as day. Not that he was displeased by that information but he had only sent for one of them to be retrieved. "Another potential recruit?"​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"...a world wrapped around her finger? A saint? No. I wouldn't say that. But she stands as proof of what I'm saying. A former member of the White Fang, now good friends with a Schnee. Think about it, really think about that. What more proof could you need that there is a better way?" Ilia countered. "It's a better option than the one you're suggesting. Blake...if you kill whole kingdoms...what will be left for you to dominate? Even if you succeed, all that death and the panic and the sorrow...the little that would be left would get overrun by grimm. You have to realize that! How can you think I'm on the wrong side of things when that's what'll happen if you go through with what you just said?!" Ilia shook her head in disbelief, her desperate pleading voice doing her best to try and get through to her friend.

"Listen to yourself, Blake. Please. You're taking me to this Ozpin...and you think there's a chance I don't live through it. Where's the greater good in that?" ​

"At the other end of this all"

The statement was made with conviction. No matter how much she might have felt some sympathy towards this other ilia, THAT was something she had to believe, and no amount of honeyed words would shake her from that belief.

"...you should rest. You don't know when you'll have a chance to again"

 

[MyrtenRose]

"At the other end of this all"

The statement was made with conviction. No matter how much she might have felt some sympathy towards this other ilia, THAT was something she had to believe, and no amount of honeyed words would shake her from that belief.

"...you should rest. You don't know when you'll have a chance to again"

"...But could you live with it? Being the kind of person that would be there at that end? Could you really?" Ilia asked, more softly spoken than anything she had said so far. Nothing else followed regardless of how Blake replied or even if she didn't reply, Ilia seemingly listening to Blake's idea of resting. In truth, there was no way she could sleep, not with everything on her mind at the moment. She simply sat there alone with those thoughts.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

Yang saw red.

She knew that this wasn't her world. She'd just spent a deeply awkward and painful conversation with Raven reminding herself of that. That wasn't her Ruby. This wasn't Adam Taurus. None of the people in this room that weren't her Ruby and Qrow were people she should've had any attachment or hate for outside of maintaining basic human morals.

But you could only look at things objectively to a point. There was only so much that you could let slide. And Taurus busting into a room with her little baby sister, with a bloody stump where her arm used to be, clearly itching for a fight, was well past whatever line Yang had internally set for herself, and she strode forward with her fists balled at her side and seemingly more than willing to meet Eve's aggression head on, regardless of who the audience would be for that rematch

"What. Did. You. Do to her?"

Well then.

Suffice it to say, this was not even remotely within the realm of things Salem saw happening. One of the members of the White Fang(the leader no less), coming in with a captive in tow and dropping her to the floor. Not just any captive either, the Red Masque herself. Glynda started to move from Salem's side, but the headmistress was quick to hold up a hand to bar her way, a slight shake of the head following shortly after. "Stop." Salem barked with all the authority and gravitas that befit one in charge of a huntsman academy, steely blue eyes focusing on Yang and Eve.

"Understand this, there will not be any fighting here. Eve Taurus would be foolish to try, being this plainly outnumbered. Do not force it, Yang." Salem left zero room for discussion on that matter. She sat up straighter in her chair as she looked more towards Eve. "If you want to talk, then I welcome it. I will listen to anything you have to say and let you listen to our discussion as you will, but not like this. You will remove your boot from your prisoner and allow us to call any necessary medical aid for her-" Salem glanced at Glynda, who nodded. "-or I will personally throw you out of my office. Your choice."

Cinder didn't know what to say or do in this tense situation, simply staying put where she was and watching the scene unfold. Ruby however, was just as quick as her sister to move towards the Red Masque, lowering herself to kneeling down near her dark counterpart's face. "Hey. Are you okay?" She whispered, trying to determine if she was even conscious.

Raven felt rather insulted that her look had been stolen, but that was neither here nor there. She didn't move from where she was either. She hadn't missed Salem's intervention when Glynda had moved to step in, so it seems that she wanted to play this out, however it would go, and Raven wasn't keen to argue with the boss.

Eve met Yang's furious advance with a sneer that was hateful and arrogant, eyes already scanning the number of opponents she'd be looking at overall, who she'd be able to cut down first before they dogpiled her. The blonde didn't look like she had any intention of slowing down. Qrow was already stalking over, fully intent on getting in Eve's space to keep her and Yang separate as much as glare her in the eye with a silent warning not to dare. The silver-haired guy near the door was already sauntering around the perimeter of where the fight would be likely break out, a cocky frown on his face and a look in his eye that said he was ready to do something. It was a fight she had no chance of winning. Impossible odds.

Her hand went right to Wilt with zero hesitation to make it perfectly clear she didn't give a damn about that, and she didn't budge an inch even as Yang marched right up to her.

"Cleaned and dressed her shoulder, for one thing. Are you as blind as you are stupid?"

She didn't take her eyes off the blonde, whatever she did next, but made no movement to draw her sword in the wake of Salem's declaration, regardless of how aggressive the moron in front of her decided to get. She raised her voice to make it clear she was addressing the headmistress, now, shutting out the blonde for all her hidden eyes burned a crater through the back of her skull.

"I didn't 'do' anything! She refuses to eat. I only have one thing to say to any of you, so let's stop wasting time."

She took her boot off Ruby's back and shoved past Yang's shoulder with her own, not in the last bit afraid to put some force behind it. She took a few steps towards Salem's desk and thrust her finger back at Ozpin's killer, lips twisted in a bitter scowl and voice a harsh growl.

"I'm going to end the man who made her that way. I don't care who he is, his promises about a better world and a new order are going to be over, and he's going to die, and every one of his followers he has brainwashed into believing in this garbage are gonna have to get over it. So I'm going to be accompanying you on this little journey, and if any one of you has any intention of trying to stop me?"

She scoffed, dropping low into a stance. Not aggressive, but ready if anything came at her in the next few seconds.

"Take your shot."​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"...two?" He curiously questioned, sitting reclined into his throne as he looked into another of the same kind of Grimm, the image of Weiss standing out clear as day. Not that he was displeased by that information but he had only sent for one of them to be retrieved. "Another potential recruit?"

"Doubtful. One of Blake's terrorist associates, only not the one she's familiar with. She intended to stage a jailbreak. I..." She considered her next words. "...intervened, but Belladonna had already subdued her, to deliver her to you for interrogation. She hopes to start making up for her failures."​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"Doubtful. One of Blake's terrorist associates, only not the one she's familiar with. She intended to stage a jailbreak. I..." She considered her next words. "...intervened, but Belladonna had already subdued her, to deliver her to you for interrogation. She hopes to start making up for her failures."​

“...Very well. We shall see if this other double has anything of use to reveal. You should be proud, Councilwoman Schnee. You’ve outdone yourself in this regard. A shame others were not even half as successful in their objectives.” Ozpin smiled, but it was far from comforting.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

She nodded her agreement, as though she felt the praise well-deserved herself. Her hand lightly swirled the ends of the glass of wine it held around. "My staff are already preparing my public statement addressing the loss of the ship. The sea serpent that waylaid us was relentless. Thankfully, myself and most of the crew were able to board the emergency shuttles, but the ship and all its prisoners were dragged to the bottom of the sea. A terrible thing."

Her faint smirk was telling of the pride she felt in her delivery of words that weren't even her own, enjoying the ring they had already. She took an elegant drag on her cigarette before she resumed speaking.

"I've always proven consistent where others are lacking, sir. It's simply my nature."​

 

[MyrtenRose]

She nodded her agreement, as though she felt the praise well-deserved herself. Her hand lightly swirled the ends of the glass of wine it held around. "My staff are already preparing my public statement addressing the loss of the ship. The sea serpent that waylaid us was relentless. Thankfully, myself and most of the crew were able to board the emergency shuttles, but the ship and all its prisoners were dragged to the bottom of the sea. A terrible thing."

Her faint smirk was telling of the pride she felt in her delivery of words that weren't even her own, enjoying the ring they had already. She took an elegant drag on her cigarette before she resumed speaking.

"I've always proven consistent where others are lacking, sir. It's simply my nature."​

"Nothing I have seen from you gives me reason to disagree, but there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. See to it you do not cross that line. I would hate for you to learn the folly of doing so while serving me." He advised, a rather tense look directed through the seer grimm. "Beyond that, we eagerly await your arrival. I have received the most fascinating news, and that requires certain...adjustments. I will have a new task awaiting you here when you arrive with your prisoners. Do not tarry."​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"Nothing I have seen from you gives me reason to disagree, but there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. See to it you do not cross that line. I would hate for you to learn the folly of doing so while serving me." He advised, a rather tense look directed through the seer grimm. "Beyond that, we eagerly await your arrival. I have received the most fascinating news, and that requires certain...adjustments. I will have a new task awaiting you here when you arrive with your prisoners. Do not tarry."​

"...Yes," she replied a bit tersely, glancing away; a blanket response that let her remain agreeable without degrading herself by acknowledging specifics. "I'll see to it our arrival is swift."

She banished the creature with a wave of her right hand's two pointer fingers, returning her gaze to the view with a tight frown. It wouldn't be long now.

 

[MidwayLives]

But there were plenty she did recognize personally. She shot Mercury a smirk as their eyes met in their roving, amused at some joke or another that clearly hadn't translated across timelines. Then there was Torchwick, who somehow still thought that hat was a good look even in his teenage years. And... poking her head out from behind Torchwick and glowering at Yang with narrowed eyes of suspicion was Neo. Who she now knew wasn't the Neo she thought she'd been punching last week, but was definitely the Neo she punched.

She shot Neo a cheerful wave, and in response the illusionist just leaned even farther behind Torchwick so that only one eye and a bit of hair was visible as she scowled.

Roman had figured the bruising Neo had gotten during the 'Attack on Beacon' was due to an enemy or something. Thus, he'd never really asked about it. But as Neo hid behind him, he frowned and reached around to gently grip his partner's shoulder to try and relax her. "Hey, hey. It's okay, bud..." Leaning down to whisper in Neo's ear, he spoke.

"Is she the one who hit you? Left those bruises on your face?"

The physical wounds had healed but the emotional baggage seemed to still be there. As if he needed another reason to worry about her.

Also, he felt strangely sensitive about his hat now for some reason...
​

Well, that was about as much effort or guilt as Yang was willing to invest into that situation, so she shrugged and turned her focus back to Salem. "Yea he... kinda turned traitor pretty much the instant beacon fell in our timeline. Maybe even before? I don't necessarily wanna say yours for sure is also gonna turn coward since uh-" she added with a dry glance across the room "-there's obviously a whole lot of other things that are different, but its something everyone here should be aware of going in."

"...Huh. As far as important info goes, that's pretty high up there. Glad it got brought up before we *cough* walked into a trap or something..."

A headmaster turning over to the evil side? The side that cost Roman and Neo everything but eachother? That was some twisted shit. The only reasons Roman could have thought of for doing so disgusted him: Either to try and get his school spared(unlikely) or to save his own skin(likely)

...Now, he supposed all they could do was wait and see and hope that he wasn't a traitor this go-around.
​

Qrow just leered at him.

Tyrian's tail drooped in response to the expression Qrow threw up.

'Poor guy. Sounds like him and the other two have already been through this whole song and dance before. No wonder he'd be bummed out about this...' Tyrian thought aloud before curiosity struck him! Making his way over to the older huntsman with a skip and a hop and a tap of his foot against the floor, he looked up at Qrow. "If you're nervous, that's quite alright! I'd be nervous too..." Tyrian started.

"If I wasn't so absolutely PUMPED in even slightly inconveniencing Ozpin and his forces of darkness in any way, shape, or form! You can count on me!" His tail curved to point at Cinder(who he waved to), Watts(who he waved to), and Hazel(who he gave a slightly sheepish wave to but he still got one!)

It felt strange to try and be reassuring to a man who looked old enough to be a teacher here. But...then given some of the fighters he'd seen back in those days, was it really? Some of those faunus were old...old enough to be Tyrian's parents even. But they kept going and going even as their bodies ached and all but begged for them to stop.

But they couldn't, the money was too good.

The only things that stopped them were a TKO or the bell.

Or unfortunately in many cases: death.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Tyrian shook his head. "Sorry, got a bit too excited there! But I can't believe that I'm going to be working alongside a veteran huntsman! I only wish the circumstances were better, that I could spar with you or something! I bet you know lots of tricks!"
​

Salem's office doors slid open, and the incongruous face of a Grimm strode into the headmistress of Beacon Academy's office. The face just below the mask was every bit as fearsome as the one it wore, an expression befitting that of a warrior surrounded by bitter enemies as Eve Taurus dumped the nullified Red Masque at her feet and held her down with a boot on the spine, pointedly staring Yang in the eyes.

"Yes, humans. Let's talk."

The sudden opening of the doors drew Roman to immediately reach for Melodic Cudgel. As far as he knew(which still didn't feel like much)everyone who was in the know was here. Which meant that the one behind that door had to be-

*thud*

"HOLY CRAP! IT"S THE RED MASQUE!!"

Roman exclaimed before looking around and clearing his throat. School was out until this whole 'mess'(which was putting it lightly)got settled but cursing infront of the headmistress still felt wrong. Felt like cursing in front of your mom.

"I mean, oh man, it's the Red Masque."

There was also the matter of the one who'd apparently not only beaten but bound the infamous almost urban legend. Even while out and about in town, you had people as young as schoolchildren taunting their peers about how 'The Red Masque' would come take them away and adults spoke of 'them' like a story around the campfire. Eyes as black as coal, hands as cold as ice, and the scythe upon their back may as well have belonged to the Grim Reaper. On the outside, Roman barely paid that kinda stuff any mind. What kind of 'cool' dude would he be if he was scared of some people's bogeyman? But on the inside, the thought of her actually being real scared the crap out of him. The sightings that were actually 'official' only made it worse.

So to not only see her tied up like a run of the mill thug and missing her prosthetic arm was...well, it was something.

Looking Eve up and down, Roman slowly took a step back. She had no chance with people like Salem, Glynda and so on here. But the thought of being close to a Shadow Fang or a White fang goon didn't sit well with him, no sir.

Tyrian for his part was a mix of relieved and excited to see that 'The Red Masque' that so many spoke of in hushed tones and fearful anecdotes was just another person like him. Well, depending on who you asked, nothing like him. Still, the arrival of the one who'd apparently captured her dampened his mood somewhat. His tail coiled up and Tyrian folded his arms across his chest.

If the mask wasn't enough of a sign but the 'horns' in her hair, Tyrian was staring at a fellow faunus.

Likely a member of the Shadow/White Fang.

"..."

For all that had happened to him and how much he disliked the Schnees, which wasn't at all out of character for most faunus, his relationship with the group was...complicated to say the least. While they went to the streets, cities, entire regions to try and spread the rights of faunus-kind through power often fighting some of their own kind in the process, Tyrian had been doing much of the same. On a much smaller scale, granted, and while he'd never killed anyone and enjoyed his time in the ring, it still didn't gel well when dealing with other faunus.

How could he be an advocate for his people when he'd fought against them for the fun of humanity?
​

She knew that this wasn't her world. She'd just spent a deeply awkward and painful conversation with Raven reminding herself of that. That wasn't her Ruby. This wasn't Adam Taurus. None of the people in this room that weren't her Ruby and Qrow were people she should've had any attachment or hate for outside of maintaining basic human morals.

But you could only look at things objectively to a point. There was only so much that you could let slide. And Taurus busting into a room with her little baby sister, with a bloody stump where her arm used to be, clearly itching for a fight, was well past whatever line Yang had internally set for herself, and she strode forward with her fists balled at her side and seemingly more than willing to meet Eve's aggression head on, regardless of who the audience would be for that rematch

"What. Did. You. Do to her?"

Getting mixed up in a brawl between two very strong woman might have sounded like a dream come true to some people: Roman was not among them. Which meant him scanning his eyes around the others and holding his hands up in a 'hey, is anyone gonna do something about this???' manner.

With how many people were here, he doubted that Masked Girl would be able to do too much damage. But that sword and the grip with which she held it didn't exactly do any favors for his confidence. What if she managed to injure or jab someone before she was subdued? The situation was too tense for him to even get a kick out of that 'stick in the mud' Watts getting shoved aside.

No, no...There had to be more of a reason behind her being here than just picking a fight she knew she couldn't win!

"You know, Neo, I've got the craziest idea. I wonder if she captured the 'Red Masque' as kind of like a....peace offering...?"

For once in his life, Tyrian was reluctant to fight given what Eve was. But if this broke out into a brawl in this enclosed space, he'd....do what he had to do.



​

"Stop."

Roman sighed harder than he ever had before.

Salem was cool, she was the kind of person who didn't look upon the students as just a bunch of kids, she laughed with them at times and although he hadn't talked to her much one on one, Roman still felt like she was chill as hell to talk to.

...still wouldn't stop him from pulling more pranks once all was said and done. But he liked to think that Salem had expected such out of Neo and him by this point.

Tyrian sighed as well and wrapped his tail around his waist. One potential crisis averted at least.

Ugh...felt like a sour taste in his mouth. Him not liking the idea of a fight!​

"I'm going to end the man who made her that way. I don't care who he is, his promises about a better world and a new order are going to be over, and he's going to die, and every one of his followers he has brainwashed into believing in this garbage are gonna have to get over it. So I'm going to be accompanying you on this little journey, and if any one of you has any intention of trying to stop me?"

"WHAT?!"

Roman and Tyrian both looked at eachother as they yelled in unison. Just like they had back when Salem first spoke to all of them.

"Hey, you're getting pretty good at that!"

"You mean, we're getting pretty good at that."

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, uh...I mean, I don't have any complaints about...Eve-nice name by the by-working with us."

Tyrian huffed and didn't say anything.

He didn't feel he had a right to.

​

 

[MidwayLives]

Salem's office doors slid open, and the incongruous face of a Grimm strode into the headmistress of Beacon Academy's office. The face just below the mask was every bit as fearsome as the one it wore, an expression befitting that of a warrior surrounded by bitter enemies as Eve Taurus dumped the nullified Red Masque at her feet and held her down with a boot on the spine, pointedly staring Yang in the eyes.

"Yes, humans. Let's talk."

She'd be continually offered food.

Either she refused to eat or she snapped at the fingers/hands of any poor faunus who got too close to her.

To eat would be to give in. To show that maybe, just maybe if Eve prodded the right way, she'd be open to giving her more information about him.

But if that was the case than she'd gladly starve to death to take that info to the grave with her.

She'd keep him safe no matter what. It's what friends do.

As she was dragged along the floor outside Salem's office, she said nothing. Her entire body ached and her stomach growled. But she ignored it just like she had been for the past few days. The only reaction Eve got out of her was when the doors opened and she was hurled to the ground.

"Ugh..."

The grunt sounded weak and with cable wrapped up and down her waist to keep her arm and stump pinned to her sides, she struggled to sit up. The lack of energy was absolutely taking a toll on her and the boot pressed onto her back didn't help. Another grunt escaped her lips as she was pressed downwards, the side of her face against the tiled floor of Salem's office.

Despite the cruel treatment however, she nary let a word behind a grunt of pain ever escape her lips.
​

"...Ah! Miss Rose. How nice to finally see you again, after seeing you twice since the last time we saw you- ack!"

Ruby gave Watts a glance and the look in her eyes said it better than words could.

Her eyelids were heavy. She struggled to keep them open due to her refusal to eat and thus the ensuing lack of energy. But her eyebrows furrowed and so she focused an ice cold glare onto Team WTCH's leader. She'd seen him around while pretending to be a student/participating in the Vytal Tournament.

Obviously, she hadn't gotten a chance for a one on one given how that shapeshifter and...her other occupied her time.

So instead with what little energy she had, she spit in Watt's general direction, a satisfied smile spreading across her face after it was done.

Roman had to work real hard to keep a laugh from escaping as Watts was spit at and shoved.
​

"What. Did. You. Do to her?"

With the pain from her aching body and the boot pressed down onto her back, Ruby was somewhat distracted. But turning her attention upon Yang, her eyes widened ever so slightly.

She didn't seem injured at all. No gashes, no bruises, not even any noticeable scars from her escape attempt.

'Was it all really just a waste? Had I truly been so pathetic that my last attempt to make an impact left....exactly zero of one? Both of them are still standing tall and here I am, down an arm and bound like any common criminal. He must be so disappointed in me...'

Still, Yang's actions touched her heart. That was never in question but it was all theatrics as far as she was concerned.

That would never be her Yang.

​

"Understand this, there will not be any fighting here. Eve Taurus would be foolish to try, being this plainly outnumbered. Do not force it, Yang." Salem left zero room for discussion on that matter. She sat up straighter in her chair as she looked more towards Eve. "If you want to talk, then I welcome it. I will listen to anything you have to say and let you listen to our discussion as you will, but not like this. You will remove your boot from your prisoner and allow us to call any necessary medical aid for her-" Salem glanced at Glynda, who nodded. "-or I will personally throw you out of my office. Your choice."

Ruby had never gotten close enough to Salem to hear her voice during the Attack on Beacon. Or at least get a good feel for it.

It felt...almost motherly, warm and protective.

But what did it matter?

The woman saying it had been the one he hated the most. Which meant she hated her too.

It was just the way things were.
​

Cinder didn't know what to say or do in this tense situation, simply staying put where she was and watching the scene unfold. Ruby however, was just as quick as her sister to move towards the Red Masque, lowering herself to kneeling down near her dark counterpart's face. "Hey. Are you okay?" She whispered, trying to determine if she was even conscious.

As her other closed in and spoke to her, Ruby closed her eyes and went over her thoughts.

'Am I ok?? AM I OK??? IT"S YOUR FAULT I"M LIKE THIS!!"

'WHY COULDN'T YOU HAVE JUST STAYED IN YOUR OWN WORLD!?? INSTEAD, YOU HAD TO RUIN MINE!!!'

'Why couldn't you just....kill me?'

But...despite sharing the same face, her Other was the only one to talk to her and not insult her since she'd been captured by Eve.

Thus, she forced herself to conjure up the energy to speak.

"No. ...Are you?"
​

She took her boot off Ruby's back and shoved past Yang's shoulder with her own, not in the last bit afraid to put some force behind it. She took a few steps towards Salem's desk and thrust her finger back at Ozpin's killer, lips twisted in a bitter scowl and voice a harsh growl.

"I'm going to end the man who made her that way. I don't care who he is, his promises about a better world and a new order are going to be over, and he's going to die, and every one of his followers he has brainwashed into believing in this garbage are gonna have to get over it. So I'm going to be accompanying you on this little journey, and if any one of you has any intention of trying to stop me?"

'End' him? He needs to 'die?'

No...No the only person she could have been referring to was...

"no..."

Her voice was hoarse but as Eve went on, she struggled against her restraints. Which given her general lack of energy resulted in her rolling from side to side.

"You can't..."

Taking a great deal of effort, Ruby pushed herself up into a seated position, her limbs still bound. Her face, pale and breaths escaping her mouth at a rapid rate.

But her eyes...

They were full of pure determination.

'Despite how ragged I get...'

'...Whether I'm falling to pieces...'

'...Or they are...one thing's for certain...'

'....I'll never let them hurt you...'

She caught her breath and glared and Roman could just feel the rage flowing off Ruby like water off a duck's back.

"You....you can't kill him...He's...He's all I have..."

She turned her attention towards Salem and her lip started to tremble.

"he's...my only friend and...he hates you..."

~~~

Roman just...generally felt hella uncomfortable at seeing the weak state that The Red Masque was in. Brainwashing or just genuine loyalty, Roman couldn't help but feel pity.

"...With a friend like that..."

'Who needs enemies?'​

 

[MidwayLives]

"...But could you live with it? Being the kind of person that would be there at that end? Could you really?" Ilia asked, more softly spoken than anything she had said so far. Nothing else followed regardless of how Blake replied or even if she didn't reply, Ilia seemingly listening to Blake's idea of resting. In truth, there was no way she could sleep, not with everything on her mind at the moment. She simply sat there alone with those thoughts.

*THUD THUD THUD*

Neo kicked at the wall like a petulant child to try and get this convo to take a hint and end!!

Gag her with a spoon, all this 'Blake no' and "I'm doing what I have to do' was driving her INSANE!

​

 

[MyrtenRose]

It truly wasn't that long a wait after that brief grimm conference call.

Another thing that stood out in contrast to the return of the quartet from the failure of Beacon, a proper sense of timeliness and urgency. Of course, what else is to be expected from someone who was both CEO of an important and renowned(or infamous) company as well as a councilwoman? When Weiss arrived, along with Blake, the dangerous Neo, and this Blake's mysterious associate doppelganger, the path up to the castle was clear. Just inside the castle’s massive front doors, Jaune stood there waiting for them, a single scar crossing his face from below the jaw to up near his left ear that definitely hadn't been there before. His outfit prevented any from determining if others like it now decorated his body, but he didn't look pleased upon seeing any of them. He simply turned around and trudged on, gesturing for them to follow.

Ilia, never having seen any place that looked even nearly this strange, couldn't manage to keep fear and worry out of her eyes. This place, it was...unnatural. What the heck is all of this??? The chameleon didn't want to take even one more step further, but unfortunately that was not up to her.

They eventually emerged into what seemed to be a council room of sorts. The blond guy joined three others, scattered around standing by a nearly empty table. But they barely registered to Ilia. If anybody thought she looked afraid before, that paled in comparison to the sheer level of absolute dread that could be seen in her eyes now. The fear of the unknown was considered by many to be among the strongest of fears, if not the strongest. And who she was looking at defied everything she thought to be impossible. That eerily pale skin, those dark purple veins creeping along his face...those glowing red eyes with black sclera, eyes that seemed to burn intensely even when the man looked pleased.

She turned to Blake in a rush, mouth open as if to speak but the words remained stuck in her throat from the terror that gripped her so intensely.

"Welcome." He greeted with casual nonchalance more fitting a man inviting friends into his home to watch some sports than this crazy eerie situation. The man, if he could even be called that, stood up and glanced to one of the others standing around the table, a redhead clad in armor who gestured to the small pink and brown haired girl. The man nodded and strode on over, swiftly having Blake freed from her restraints. He went right past Weiss and Blake and even the other prisoner, ending up standing uncomfortably close to the chameleon with a scrutinous glare adorning his face. She was doing her best to avert her eyes, look somewhere else, anywhere else.

After a few moments he turned back and took his seat again, and just when Ilia thought she could maybe let out a sigh of relief that the man hadn't done anything, a dark ethereal circle opened under her boots and a torrent of hands that could only belong to grimm shot out from it with terrifying speed. They gripped her tight, lifting her into the air above the table. "So this is one of these doppelgangers. How...underwhelming." Ozpin reclined further into his throne. And those cold monstrous hands no longer just held her tight. No, their clawed fingers pierced through Ilia's skin in an instant, snaking through underneath amidst the muscle and bone, moving with such emphasized slowness as if to maximize the suffering.

The unbearable pain that lanced through her entire body brought about a scream of such agony that at least one of the four standing around the table turned away, unable to look at that even a moment longer. "B...Blake. P-please." The faunus quietly stammered out despite the pain, tears running across her face as she tried to look towards the Shadow Fang member. Ozpin briefly glanced toward his subordinate, before glaring back at Ilia. With a flash of anger, the grimm hands pushed the chameleon further over in an instant. She was now hanging in the air above the head of the table, and the grimm appendages slowly turned her until she was upside down, her face lined up with Ozpin's own. "No no, you will speak only to me. I will see if you have anything worth revealing. But first..."

Ozpin raised a hand, and Ilia was lifted up higher so she was no longer blocking his view of the others. "Blake? Anything you wish to discuss about Beacon?" ​

 

[MyrtenRose]

But...despite sharing the same face, her Other was the only one to talk to her and not insult her since she'd been captured by Eve.

Thus, she forced herself to conjure up the energy to speak.

"No. ...Are you?"

Ruby couldn't say she was, not with her having to listen to her dark counterpart say that this Ozpin was her only friend. If he was truly equivalent to the Salem she knew from her world, then...that statement just pained her to hear. Never before had she felt so sorry for...herself, technically speaking.​

"I'm going to end the man who made her that way. I don't care who he is, his promises about a better world and a new order are going to be over, and he's going to die, and every one of his followers he has brainwashed into believing in this garbage are gonna have to get over it. So I'm going to be accompanying you on this little journey, and if any one of you has any intention of trying to stop me?"

She scoffed, dropping low into a stance. Not aggressive, but ready if anything came at her in the next few seconds.

"Take your shot."

"..." If she had any objections, she didn't raise them. "I'm afraid it isn't going to be as easy as you make it out to be. Not even remotely so." Nevertheless, Salem looked around at all those gathered to see if there would be any objections from anyone in regards to turning this party of 12 individuals to an uneven 13 with the addition of Eve Taurus.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

The unbearable pain that lanced through her entire body brought about a scream of such agony that at least one of the four standing around the table turned away, unable to look at that even a moment longer. "B...Blake. P-please." The faunus quietly stammered out despite the pain, tears running across her face as she tried to look towards the Shadow Fang member. Ozpin briefly glanced toward his subordinate, before glaring back at Ilia. With a flash of anger, the grimm hands pushed the chameleon further over in an instant. She was now hanging in the air above the head of the table, and the grimm appendages slowly turned her until she was upside down, her face lined up with Ozpin's own. "No no, you will speak only to me. I will see if you have anything worth revealing. But first..."

Ozpin raised a hand, and Ilia was lifted up higher so she was no longer blocking his view of the others. "Blake? Anything you wish to discuss about Beacon?"

Weiss could hardly have laid claim to enjoying her time in this place either, as much as her duties lately had been necessitating it, so she felt a strange affinity with their captive on that point. The ability to divorce herself from her inner feelings on a matter was the real secret behind her climb to power. But some things were just uglier and cruder than she ever wanted to bear personal witness to, a thought not reflected in the way she held Ilia in a dispassionate gaze as the shadows pierced her, and while this was clearly a time when she was expected to stay quiet she felt she had proven her worth enough today to chime in with a polite clear of the throat.

"Most modern specialists call into question the use of physical torture as a means of extracting reliable information, you know. It's frequently impossible to discern when the information you're being given is true and when they're just saying whatever they think'll get the pain to stop."​

 

[MyrtenRose]

Weiss could hardly have laid claim to enjoying her time in this place either, as much as her duties lately had been necessitating it, so she felt a strange affinity with their captive on that point. The ability to divorce herself from her inner feelings on a matter was the real secret behind her climb to power. But some things were just uglier and cruder than she ever wanted to bear personal witness to, a thought not reflected in the way she held Ilia in a dispassionate gaze as the shadows pierced her, and while this was clearly a time when she was expected to stay quiet she felt she had proven her worth enough today to chime in with a polite clear of the throat.

"Most modern specialists call into question the use of physical torture as a means of extracting reliable information, you know. It's frequently impossible to discern when the information you're being given is true and when they're just saying whatever they think'll get the pain to stop."​

He looked towards Weiss with an unreadable expression after she made her thoughts known. For a short time it was unclear how he would respond to that...but rather than anything aggressive or hostile, Ozpin merely chuckled. "Bold of you, Weiss. You don't cease to give me reasons to value you so highly. You are not afraid to make your views known to anyone, not even me. You are no simple sycophant. Many people wish they could be even half as brave. What's more, you aren't technically wrong. Ordinarily you would be right. Torture is unreliable at best in most cases. However...most modern specialists have never met me. Have faith that if this prisoner you've brought me has any valuable information, I will extract it...and it will be unquestionably true." ​

 

[Gus Gungus]

He looked towards Weiss with an unreadable expression after she made her thoughts known. For a short time it was unclear how he would respond to that...but rather than anything aggressive or hostile, Ozpin merely chuckled. "Bold of you, Weiss. You don't cease to give me reasons to value you so highly. You are not afraid to make your views known to anyone, not even me. You are no simple sycophant. Many people wish they could be even half as brave. What's more, you aren't technically wrong. Ordinarily you would be right. Torture is unreliable at best in most cases. However...most modern specialists have never met me. Have faith that if this prisoner you've brought me has any valuable information, I will extract it...and it will be unquestionably true."

Weiss's eyebrows arched a little higher than usual at that being Ozpin's choice of response, simply not used to the idea that anything she said could be interpreted as speaking out of turn. She decided to accept the praise while also taking it as a subtle reminder not to push it, clasping both hands in front of her and giving a gracious bow of the head. "I see. I greatly appreciate you saying that."

With that respectful gesture hopefully enough to excuse her from the immediate circle, she made to walk around and join the others at the table, eager to remove herself from the splash radius of whatever blood was about to be spilled. She pointedly didn't look at Ilia again.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"You....you can't kill him...He's...He's all I have..."

She turned her attention towards Salem and her lip started to tremble.

"he's...my only friend and...he hates you..."

"Don't be a fool, girl." Raven finally brought herself to somewhat harshly comment on something she heard, still leaning against one of the walls in the back. "He doesn't have friends. Only tools to be discarded when they no longer have any value. Whatever he told you, whatever he's promised you...lies. That's all they are. The moment someone ceases to be useful, he rids himself of them. If you think otherwise, you're only deluding yourself."​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"I see. I greatly appreciate you saying that."

"We'll talk about your next task over a game of catch"

 

[MidwayLives]

Another thing that stood out in contrast to the return of the quartet from the failure of Beacon, a proper sense of timeliness and urgency. Of course, what else is to be expected from someone who was both CEO of an important and renowned(or infamous) company as well as a councilwoman? When Weiss arrived, along with Blake, the dangerous Neo, and this Blake's mysterious associate doppelganger, the path up to the castle was clear. Just inside the council doors, Jaune stood there waiting for them, a single scar crossing his face from below the jaw to up near his left ear that definitely hadn't been there before. His outfit prevented any from determining if others like it now decorated his body, but he didn't look pleased upon seeing any of them. He simply turned around and trudged on, gesturing for them to follow.

Ilia, never having seen any place that looked even nearly this strange, couldn't manage to keep fear and worry out of her eyes. This place, it was...unnatural. What the heck is all of this??? The chameleon didn't want to take even one more step further, but unfortunately that was not up to her.

They eventually emerged into what seemed to be a council room of sorts. The blond guy joined three others, scattered around standing by a nearly empty table. But they barely registered to Ilia. If anybody thought she looked afraid before, that paled in comparison to the sheer level of absolute dread that could be seen in her eyes now. The fear of the unknown was considered by many to be among the strongest of fears, if not the strongest. And who she was looking at defied everything she thought to be impossible. That eerily pale skin, those dark purple veins creeping along his face...those glowing red eyes with black sclera, eyes that seemed to burn intensely even when the man looked pleased.

FINALLY!!!

She was off that damn ship.

So much stuff had happened to her and she was downright sick of it.

She'd been dumped in some other world, this world's Neo was a backstabbing little harlot who tricked her with a fist bump, and she was forced to listen to the best of 'i'll save you no matter what!!!' until they finally got...to wherever they were going.

As Neo followed the others, she tilted her head upon looking at Jaune.

....He looked better with that hair.
​

Ilia, never having seen any place that looked even nearly this strange, couldn't manage to keep fear and worry out of her eyes. This place, it was...unnatural. What the heck is all of this??? The chameleon didn't want to take even one more step further, but unfortunately that was not up to her.

They eventually emerged into what seemed to be a council room of sorts. The blond guy joined three others, scattered around standing by a nearly empty table. But they barely registered to Ilia. If anybody thought she looked afraid before, that paled in comparison to the sheer level of absolute dread that could be seen in her eyes now. The fear of the unknown was considered by many to be among the strongest of fears, if not the strongest. And who she was looking at defied everything she thought to be impossible. That eerily pale skin, those dark purple veins creeping along his face...those glowing red eyes with black sclera, eyes that seemed to burn intensely even when the man looked pleased.

Neo waved her hands and put on a mock 'scared' expression to mess with the chameleon faunus.

Terror was such an amusing and satisfying expression to behold.

But then as Neo got a good look at Ozpin, she blinked.

...Huh. That...didn't quite seem right..
​

"Welcome." He greeted with casual nonchalance more fitting a man inviting friends into his home to watch some sports than this crazy eerie situation. The man, if he could even be called that, stood up and glanced to one of the others standing around the table, a redhead clad in armor who gestured to the small pink and brown haired girl. The man nodded and strode on over, swiftly having Blake freed from her restraints. He went right past Weiss and Blake and even the other prisoner, ending up standing uncomfortably close to the chameleon with a scrutinous glare adorning his face. She was doing her best to avert her eyes, look somewhere else, anywhere else.

Oh joy!

She'd been taken from a school of brats to the lair of a creep.

Yay.....
​

After a few moments he turned back and took his seat again, and just when Ilia thought she could maybe let out a sigh of relief that the man hadn't done anything, a dark ethereal circle opened under her boots and a torrent of hands that could only belong to grimm shot out from it with terrifying speed. They gripped her tight, lifting her into the air above the table. "So this is one of these doppelgangers. How...underwhelming." Ozpin reclined further into his throne. And those cold monstrous hands no longer just held her tight. No, their clawed fingers pierced through Ilia's skin in an instant, snaking through underneath amidst the muscle and bone, moving with such emphasized slowness as if to maximize the suffering.

The unbearable pain that lanced through her entire body brought about a scream of such agony that at least one of the four standing around the table turned away, unable to look at that even a moment longer. "B...Blake. P-please." The faunus quietly stammered out despite the pain, tears running across her face as she tried to look towards the Shadow Fang member. Ozpin briefly glanced toward his subordinate, before glaring back at Ilia. With a flash of anger, the grimm hands pushed the chameleon further over in an instant. She was now hanging in the air above the head of the table, and the grimm appendages slowly turned her until she was upside down, her face lined up with Ozpin's own. "No no, you will speak only to me. I will see if you have anything worth revealing. But first..."

Ozpin raised a hand, and Ilia was lifted up higher so she was no longer blocking his view of the others. "Blake? Anything you wish to discuss about Beacon?"

Oh...

Oh no....

She hadn't been expecting THAT.

She was a doppleganger too but she really hoped that wasn't how he planned on greeting her too...
​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

Eve met Yang's furious advance with a sneer that was hateful and arrogant, eyes already scanning the number of opponents she'd be looking at overall, who she'd be able to cut down first before they dogpiled her. The blonde didn't look like she had any intention of slowing down. Qrow was already stalking over, fully intent on getting in Eve's space to keep her and Yang separate as much as glare her in the eye with a silent warning not to dare. The silver-haired guy near the door was already sauntering around the perimeter of where the fight would be likely break out, a cocky frown on his face and a look in his eye that said he was ready to do something. It was a fight she had no chance of winning. Impossible odds.

Her hand went right to Wilt with zero hesitation to make it perfectly clear she didn't give a damn about that, and she didn't budge an inch even as Yang marched right up to her.

"Cleaned and dressed her shoulder, for one thing. Are you as blind as you are stupid?"

She didn't take her eyes off the blonde, whatever she did next, but made no movement to draw her sword in the wake of Salem's declaration, regardless of how aggressive the moron in front of her decided to get. She raised her voice to make it clear she was addressing the headmistress, now, shutting out the blonde for all her hidden eyes burned a crater through the back of her skull.

"I didn't 'do' anything! She refuses to eat. I only have one thing to say to any of you, so let's stop wasting time."

She took her boot off Ruby's back and shoved past Yang's shoulder with her own, not in the last bit afraid to put some force behind it. She took a few steps towards Salem's desk and thrust her finger back at Ozpin's killer, lips twisted in a bitter scowl and voice a harsh growl.

"I'm going to end the man who made her that way. I don't care who he is, his promises about a better world and a new order are going to be over, and he's going to die, and every one of his followers he has brainwashed into believing in this garbage are gonna have to get over it. So I'm going to be accompanying you on this little journey, and if any one of you has any intention of trying to stop me?"

She scoffed, dropping low into a stance. Not aggressive, but ready if anything came at her in the next few seconds.

"Take your shot."​

Well then.

Suffice it to say, this was not even remotely within the realm of things Salem saw happening. One of the members of the White Fang(the leader no less), coming in with a captive in tow and dropping her to the floor. Not just any captive either, the Red Masque herself. Glynda started to move from Salem's side, but the headmistress was quick to hold up a hand to bar her way, a slight shake of the head following shortly after. "Stop." Salem barked with all the authority and gravitas that befit one in charge of a huntsman academy, steely blue eyes focusing on Yang and Eve.

"Understand this, there will not be any fighting here. Eve Taurus would be foolish to try, being this plainly outnumbered. Do not force it, Yang." Salem left zero room for discussion on that matter. She sat up straighter in her chair as she looked more towards Eve. "If you want to talk, then I welcome it. I will listen to anything you have to say and let you listen to our discussion as you will, but not like this. You will remove your boot from your prisoner and allow us to call any necessary medical aid for her-" Salem glanced at Glynda, who nodded. "-or I will personally throw you out of my office. Your choice."

Cinder didn't know what to say or do in this tense situation, simply staying put where she was and watching the scene unfold. Ruby however, was just as quick as her sister to move towards the Red Masque, lowering herself to kneeling down near her dark counterpart's face. "Hey. Are you okay?" She whispered, trying to determine if she was even conscious.

Raven felt rather insulted that her look had been stolen, but that was neither here nor there. She didn't move from where she was either. She hadn't missed Salem's intervention when Glynda had moved to step in, so it seems that she wanted to play this out, however it would go, and Raven wasn't keen to argue with the boss.

​

Yang's inexorable advance ground to a halt as Salem's voice rang out and Qrow stepped between them, her mouth set into a hard, frustrated line as she made herself stay quiet and listen to what Eve had to say. The longer she talked, the more Yang wanted her to shut up. Not because what she was saying was bad, or wrong.

But because it was a list of reasons Yang shouldn't punch her right in that self righteous mask, no matter how much she wanted to.

She scowled at her as she pushed past, putting more than was necessary in the resistance to her shoulder, but knelt next to the other Ruby as as her actual sister moved up to talk rather than turn to keep her eyes on the faunus.

She'd be continually offered food.

Either she refused to eat or she snapped at the fingers/hands of any poor faunus who got too close to her.

To eat would be to give in. To show that maybe, just maybe if Eve prodded the right way, she'd be open to giving her more information about him.

But if that was the case than she'd gladly starve to death to take that info to the grave with her.

She'd keep him safe no matter what. It's what friends do.

As she was dragged along the floor outside Salem's office, she said nothing. Her entire body ached and her stomach growled. But she ignored it just like she had been for the past few days. The only reaction Eve got out of her was when the doors opened and she was hurled to the ground.

"Ugh..."

The grunt sounded weak and with cable wrapped up and down her waist to keep her arm and stump pinned to her sides, she struggled to sit up. The lack of energy was absolutely taking a toll on her and the boot pressed onto her back didn't help. Another grunt escaped her lips as she was pressed downwards, the side of her face against the tiled floor of Salem's office.

Despite the cruel treatment however, she nary let a word behind a grunt of pain ever escape her lips.


Ruby gave Watts a glance and the look in her eyes said it better than words could.

Her eyelids were heavy. She struggled to keep them open due to her refusal to eat and thus the ensuing lack of energy. But her eyebrows furrowed and so she focused an ice cold glare onto Team WTCH's leader. She'd seen him around while pretending to be a student/participating in the Vytal Tournament.

Obviously, she hadn't gotten a chance for a one on one given how that shapeshifter and...her other occupied her time.

So instead with what little energy she had, she spit in Watt's general direction, a satisfied smile spreading across her face after it was done.

Roman had to work real hard to keep a laugh from escaping as Watts was spit at and shoved.


With the pain from her aching body and the boot pressed down onto her back, Ruby was somewhat distracted. But turning her attention upon Yang, her eyes widened ever so slightly.

She didn't seem injured at all. No gashes, no bruises, not even any noticeable scars from her escape attempt.

'Was it all really just a waste? Had I truly been so pathetic that my last attempt to make an impact left....exactly zero of one? Both of them are still standing tall and here I am, down an arm and bound like any common criminal. He must be so disappointed in me...'

Still, Yang's actions touched her heart. That was never in question but it was all theatrics as far as she was concerned.

That would never be her Yang.



Ruby had never gotten close enough to Salem to hear her voice during the Attack on Beacon. Or at least get a good feel for it.

It felt...almost motherly, warm and protective.

But what did it matter?

The woman saying it had been the one he hated the most. Which meant she hated her too.

It was just the way things were.


As her other closed in and spoke to her, Ruby closed her eyes and went over her thoughts.

'Am I ok?? AM I OK??? IT"S YOUR FAULT I"M LIKE THIS!!"

'WHY COULDN'T YOU HAVE JUST STAYED IN YOUR OWN WORLD!?? INSTEAD, YOU HAD TO RUIN MINE!!!'

'Why couldn't you just....kill me?'

But...despite sharing the same face, her Other was the only one to talk to her and not insult her since she'd been captured by Eve.

Thus, she forced herself to conjure up the energy to speak.

"No. ...Are you?"


'End' him? He needs to 'die?'

No...No the only person she could have been referring to was...

"no..."

Her voice was hoarse but as Eve went on, she struggled against her restraints. Which given her general lack of energy resulted in her rolling from side to side.

"You can't..."

Taking a great deal of effort, Ruby pushed herself up into a seated position, her limbs still bound. Her face, pale and breaths escaping her mouth at a rapid rate.

But her eyes...

They were full of pure determination.

'Despite how ragged I get...'

'...Whether I'm falling to pieces...'

'...Or they are...one thing's for certain...'

'....I'll never let them hurt you...'

She caught her breath and glared and Roman could just feel the rage flowing off Ruby like water off a duck's back.

"You....you can't kill him...He's...He's all I have..."

She turned her attention towards Salem and her lip started to tremble.

"he's...my only friend and...he hates you..."

~~~

Roman just...generally felt hella uncomfortable at seeing the weak state that The Red Masque was in. Brainwashing or just genuine loyalty, Roman couldn't help but feel pity.

"...With a friend like that..."

'Who needs enemies?'​

Yang's heart couldn't break twice over the same thing, but seeing this awful mirrored image of her sister babbling about dark lord Ozpin like he was her only friend was definitely a painful reminder that it was still the case. She had to catch herself from reaching forward to run a calming hand through the Red Masque's hair, and she shot Raven a dark glare as she oh so helpfully cut in. Glad to see her mom still had a way with words here even if she wasn't a complete trashbird here. She huffed and turned back towards her not sister and made herself wear a wry grin and turn her tone warm, stamping out whatever anger she was still carrying so that it wasn't poking through her voice.

"Well, you're not gonna be able to stop us if you starve to death, sis. Get your strength up, be good for auntie Salem, and when we get back from where we're going I'll sit down with you, and you can tell me why this Ozpin's so great, kay? I mean, heck, we're not even big fans of the one from our world, so who knows, maybe you'll convince me : |"

She then finally lost the battle of will she was having with herself and gently ruffled the masque's hair before she stood up and turned back towards where Eve and Salem were both in her sight, her prosthetic fist flexing almost reflexively as she let her anger simmer back up to the surface. Eventually, she made a grunt of annoyance and shuffled back over to the wall she'd been on, a just a little bit petty return shoulder check given to Eve as she passed. The thought of working with an Adam Taurus left her skin crawling, and her having a pair up top instead of below didn't do anything to change that. But... her treating a Ruby that, even if Yang absolutely refused to believe couldn't still be her sweet little sister deep down, had definitely done some horrible things with such respect, and how she'd been with Blake in their brief three way smackdown... might've, at least a little bit.

Which really just made her more annoyed as she thought about it.

"Whatever. If she wants to follow us, I won't stop her."

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

It truly wasn't that long a wait after that brief grimm conference call.

Another thing that stood out in contrast to the return of the quartet from the failure of Beacon, a proper sense of timeliness and urgency. Of course, what else is to be expected from someone who was both CEO of an important and renowned(or infamous) company as well as a councilwoman? When Weiss arrived, along with Blake, the dangerous Neo, and this Blake's mysterious associate doppelganger, the path up to the castle was clear. Just inside the castle’s massive front doors, Jaune stood there waiting for them, a single scar crossing his face from below the jaw to up near his left ear that definitely hadn't been there before. His outfit prevented any from determining if others like it now decorated his body, but he didn't look pleased upon seeing any of them. He simply turned around and trudged on, gesturing for them to follow.

Ilia, never having seen any place that looked even nearly this strange, couldn't manage to keep fear and worry out of her eyes. This place, it was...unnatural. What the heck is all of this??? The chameleon didn't want to take even one more step further, but unfortunately that was not up to her.

They eventually emerged into what seemed to be a council room of sorts. The blond guy joined three others, scattered around standing by a nearly empty table. But they barely registered to Ilia. If anybody thought she looked afraid before, that paled in comparison to the sheer level of absolute dread that could be seen in her eyes now. The fear of the unknown was considered by many to be among the strongest of fears, if not the strongest. And who she was looking at defied everything she thought to be impossible. That eerily pale skin, those dark purple veins creeping along his face...those glowing red eyes with black sclera, eyes that seemed to burn intensely even when the man looked pleased.

She turned to Blake in a rush, mouth open as if to speak but the words remained stuck in her throat from the terror that gripped her so intensely.

"Welcome." He greeted with casual nonchalance more fitting a man inviting friends into his home to watch some sports than this crazy eerie situation. The man, if he could even be called that, stood up and glanced to one of the others standing around the table, a redhead clad in armor who gestured to the small pink and brown haired girl. The man nodded and strode on over, swiftly having Blake freed from her restraints. He went right past Weiss and Blake and even the other prisoner, ending up standing uncomfortably close to the chameleon with a scrutinous glare adorning his face. She was doing her best to avert her eyes, look somewhere else, anywhere else.

After a few moments he turned back and took his seat again, and just when Ilia thought she could maybe let out a sigh of relief that the man hadn't done anything, a dark ethereal circle opened under her boots and a torrent of hands that could only belong to grimm shot out from it with terrifying speed. They gripped her tight, lifting her into the air above the table. "So this is one of these doppelgangers. How...underwhelming." Ozpin reclined further into his throne. And those cold monstrous hands no longer just held her tight. No, their clawed fingers pierced through Ilia's skin in an instant, snaking through underneath amidst the muscle and bone, moving with such emphasized slowness as if to maximize the suffering.

The unbearable pain that lanced through her entire body brought about a scream of such agony that at least one of the four standing around the table turned away, unable to look at that even a moment longer. "B...Blake. P-please." The faunus quietly stammered out despite the pain, tears running across her face as she tried to look towards the Shadow Fang member. Ozpin briefly glanced toward his subordinate, before glaring back at Ilia. With a flash of anger, the grimm hands pushed the chameleon further over in an instant. She was now hanging in the air above the head of the table, and the grimm appendages slowly turned her until she was upside down, her face lined up with Ozpin's own. "No no, you will speak only to me. I will see if you have anything worth revealing. But first..."

Ozpin raised a hand, and Ilia was lifted up higher so she was no longer blocking his view of the others. "Blake? Anything you wish to discuss about Beacon?" ​

As they approached the castle, Blake wasn't filled with dread. Not just because she'd been here many a time at this point, but because this dark citadel gave her an entirely set of feelings

Determination.

Resolute belief.

The confidence that no matter what those around her said, she'd made the right choice in convincing Sienna to side with Ozpin.



This was a place of power. It radiated from the walls. From the architecture that paid only vague heed to the immutable laws of physics. It was in the gaze of every vicious beast that loped through its halls that eyed the faunus with a hunger it would never act on, cowed and shackled under the will of a single mind. It was the fortress of someone who had decided that they hated the shape of the world, and who had spent centuries amassing the strength necessary to rip that world apart so that it could be made anew. Salem, the kingdoms, bloody Atlas and its depraved elite, they could call the grimm and their master a force of darkness all they wished, but Blake knew that wasn't what this place was. It was a place that positively hummed with the power of change. Power that Blake desperately wanted. The power that she needed to burn these human kingdoms to the ground.

As the cuffs fell from her, Blake took a deep, relieved breath, as if she was sucking her aura back in from the very air around her. the suppressed energy welled up from her in a font, and as it re-coalesced her entire form was covered in a shade of deep, black violet with two yellow slashes where her eyes were. For a brief moment, she looked no different than any other grimm who stalked these halls.

Then the moment faded as her aura evened out, and as Ozpin addressed her directly she fell solemnly to one knee, seeming to ignore Ilia's soft cries entirely.

"Your plan was doomed from the start, Lord Ozpin. This wasn't a failure that could be prevented."

She waited a moment to see if she was struck down immediately for that, before she continued.

"Some other power is acting against you. With perhaps one exception, all of these doubles are opposed to the grimm in the world they come from. Not just the grimm; the one I spoke to knows of you, and Salem, the relics, all of it. Another is a copy of the masque; which means that there is a silver eyed warrior under Salem's thumb instead of yours."

Her gaze came up to meet his as she continued.

"My forces staying past the moment the dragon fell would have been useless. We had already given your... criminals ample time to secure the maiden anyways. Staying would have been a waste of faunus lives, and a needless drain on your resources. A withdrawal was the only sound choice in that moment. As for this double..."

Her gaze drifted over to where Ilia was, though her expression was a mask of indifference. "...Forgive me , but your way isn't the way into her thoughts. If she is anything like the Ilia Sienna and I have under our employ, pain and fear, even to an extreme, will only steel her resolve. Let me take her back to my lady. She'll willingly give us what she knows, once she has a chance to meet with her. And if not..."

She turned back to Ozpin, her tone brooking no argument to her loyalty.

"..Then she'll die, and however meager a threat to us she could be will no longer be a problem."

 

[MidwayLives]

"Don't be a fool, girl." Raven finally brought herself to somewhat harshly comment on something she heard, still leaning against one of the walls in the back. "He doesn't have friends. Only tools to be discarded when they no longer have any value. Whatever he told you, whatever he's promised you...lies. That's all they are. The moment someone ceases to be useful, he rids himself of them. If you think otherwise, you're only deluding yourself."

"..."

Just as with Eve, Ruby said nothing. Too tired to argue.

Nobody believed her and that hurt worse than even losing her arm.
​

"Well, you're not gonna be able to stop us if you starve to death, sis. Get your strength up, be good for auntie Salem, and when we get back from where we're going I'll sit down with you, and you can tell me why this Ozpin's so great, kay? I mean, heck, we're not even big fans of the one from our world, so who knows, maybe you'll convince me : |"

"...Hmph."

Ruby looked away as Yang approached her. She still said nothing.

What was there to say? Ozpin would be so disappointed that she'd been away for so long. He probably missed her like she missed him.
​

She then finally lost the battle of will she was having with herself and gently ruffled the masque's hair

"H-Hey!"

Despite the glare she gave off after her hair was ruffled, an earnest smile did appear on her face.

Sparing a brief glance over at Salem, Ruby just as quickly looked away.

Ozpin hated her and Ruby swore that his enemies would be hers. But why couldn't she 'look' bad...?

Scooting over on her knees until she was propped up against the wall, Ruby settled in and slowly closed her eyes. "I'm...just gonna take a nap."

And she was out like a light. Having forced herself to stay awake and refuse Eve's food had obviously drained her. Thus when she finally entered the realms of sleep it felt like utter bliss.

~~~



She never told anyone about her dreams, not even him.

She didn't want anyone to think she was going soft but her dreams painted a different story than what reality held for her.

Weiss was still snooty but was polite and even gave Ruby advice/even let Ruby try on her hat. No more thinking she was just a brutish thug.

Blake and her agreed they'd both happily work together...and be friends. No more thinking she was just a disgusting human.

Yang?

....Yang hadn't been in too many of her dreams lately. Except this one and she was just like the one who'd ruffled her hair.

"Hi, my favorite little sis!~"

~~~

"Mm..."

A small smile appeared on the sleeping assassin's face.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

Then the moment faded as her aura evened out, and as Ozpin addressed her directly she fell solemnly to one knee, seeming to ignore Ilia's soft cries entirely.

"Your plan was doomed from the start, Lord Ozpin. This wasn't a failure that could be prevented."

She waited a moment to see if she was struck down immediately for that, before she continued.

"Some other power is acting against you. With perhaps one exception, all of these doubles are opposed to the grimm in the world they come from. Not just the grimm; the one I spoke to knows of you, and Salem, the relics, all of it. Another is a copy of the masque; which means that there is a silver eyed warrior under Salem's thumb instead of yours."

Her gaze came up to meet his as she continued.

"My forces staying past the moment the dragon fell would have been useless. We had already given your... criminals ample time to secure the maiden anyways. Staying would have been a waste of faunus lives, and a needless drain on your resources. A withdrawal was the only sound choice in that moment. As for this double..."

"Hmmm." That single word was the extent of Ozpin's initial reply to the kneeling Blake's report on the failure of Beacon. In truth, he had already learned much of this from the other four and hadn't needed to ask Blake much more. In fact, he had already come to the same conclusion. When things turned against them, it was only logical that they fled. They had fought hard, but fighting to the bitter end for very little gains would have been a mistake. "It is good you recognized so. I will have need of your forces that still remain." ​

Her gaze drifted over to where Ilia was, though her expression was a mask of indifference. "...Forgive me , but your way isn't the way into her thoughts. If she is anything like the Ilia Sienna and I have under our employ, pain and fear, even to an extreme, will only steel her resolve. Let me take her back to my lady. She'll willingly give us what she knows, once she has a chance to meet with her. And if not..."

She turned back to Ozpin, her tone brooking no argument to her loyalty.

"..Then she'll die, and however meager a threat to us she could be will no longer be a problem."

"You think so?" His eyes shifted over to look at the chameleon, mouth twisted in thought. It seemed he was considering her words more than Weiss's on this matter...and he relented, the grimm appendages pulling back and receding into the dark portal before that too faded away. Ilia dropped to the floor with a loud thud, laying sprawled out with blood running across her arms and legs as she whimpered in pain and fear. "Very well, you may have your...companion. You do seem to know her better than the rest of us, from what I hear. However..." He steepled his hands, staring with narrowed eyes at Blake.

"I don't want to think this is out of some misguided sense of mercy, or even worse, a sign of weakening loyalty. Kneeling before me and sounding as loyal as ever is all very well and good...but not enough." Even if the withdrawing of the Shadow Fang had been tactically sound, he needed to be absolutely certain she was still devoted to the cause. "How is your resolve, I wonder?" His eyes somehow narrowed even more. "You can take this Ilia, but first..." Those red eyes flashed dangerously.

"I want you to personally sever one of her hands. One clean slice." He paused for a moment. "Do not worry that the cuffs will no longer be quite as effective. She won't be going anywhere."

Ilia visibly flinched just from hearing that, and despite the aching pain that still lingered, she moved her head until she was looking at Blake in full, eyes desperately pleading for her to not do that.​