Fandom Distorted Mirror [IC]

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

".....Deep." She couldn't keep herself from sarcastically commenting. Though the snickers that accompanied the thumbs up greatly puzzled her. Is there a joke here that I'm missing??? She wasn't sure but she was sure that there wouldn't be much point in asking directly. The thoughts on what that thumbs up could have possibly meant so consumed her attention that she wasn't minding her surroundings, and when they reached the cafeteria, she walked straight into the door and banged her head off it. "Ow."

Neo's eyes shot open in surprise as Cinder walked face first into the door. As funny as that was (It was hilarious), she looked more concerned than amused as she gently grabbed Cinder's shoulders to pull her back a few steps and push open the door open for her. Once they were safely inside the cafeteria, cleverly outsmarting its vicious wooden guard, she gave Cinder's forehead a once over with a frown before she stepped back and suddenly it was Watts standing there instead of Neo (albeit a bit too short), pointing at himself in askance.

 

[MidwayLives]

Having made his own way to the cafeteria, Roman pushed through everyone else who may have been conversing and moving around minding their own business, he had a friend to find! Once he spotted Cinder who Neo had mentioned was with her in the text, he raised his hand to wave before tilting his head in confusion as the height-challenged mimicry of Watts took his partner's place. If you asked Roman his two cents, he'd tell you that Watts was the kid with the biggest stick up his ass that he'd ever met. Still, the guy had brains and Roman had to give him that(not not in public of course, he'd never hear the end of it otherwise!)

"Hey guys! Watts do something?" Roman asked, pointing to Watts!Neo as well.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

Neo's eyes shot open in surprise as Cinder walked face first into the door. As funny as that was (It was hilarious), she looked more concerned than amused as she gently grabbed Cinder's shoulders to pull her back a few steps and push open the door open for her. Once they were safely inside the cafeteria, cleverly outsmarting its vicious wooden guard, she gave Cinder's forehead a once over with a frown before she stepped back and suddenly it was Watts standing there instead of Neo (albeit a bit too short), pointing at himself in askance.

"Stupid freaking door, who put that there." Cinder grumbled, though with the assistance she was quick to add a louder "Thanks." Her stomach rumbled again and she glanced over in the direction of the kitchen and all the food. When her gaze returned, it was Watts that stood there. Albeit a much shorter Watts. Her smile with the thanks quickly turned into a frown of displeasure. "Ugh, what about him?"

"Hey guys! Watts do something?" Roman asked, pointing to Watts!Neo as well.

"Besides being prickly and smug?"

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"Stupid freaking door, who put that there." Cinder grumbled, though with the assistance she was quick to add a louder "Thanks." Her stomach rumbled again and she glanced over in the direction of the kitchen and all the food. When her gaze returned, it was Watts that stood there. Albeit a much shorter Watts. Her smile with the thanks quickly turned into a frown of displeasure. "Ugh, what about him?"



"Besides being prickly and smug?"

'Watts' brightened and gave Roman an energetic wave as he approached. He arched an eyebrow and stroked at his chin at CInder's vague response, before instead of Watts it was a training dummy standing next to them, without its head. Then they were staring at a second Cinder, who gestured plainly at the door the real Cinder had so recently gotten acquainted with. When it was finally Neo standing in front of them again, she crossed her arms with a frown, eyes tinged with concern despite the apparent lack of concussion.

 

[MyrtenRose]

'Watts' brightened and gave Roman an energetic wave as he approached. He arched an eyebrow and stroked at his chin at CInder's vague response, before instead of Watts it was a training dummy standing next to them, without its head. Then they were staring at a second Cinder, who gestured plainly at the door the real Cinder had so recently gotten acquainted with. When it was finally Neo standing in front of them again, she crossed her arms with a frown, eyes tinged with concern despite the apparent lack of concussion.

"...listen, I just got a lot on my mind. Okay? I appreciate the concern but I'll be fine. Really. Or I will be as soon as I get something good to eat. Excuse me." Cinder began to head over in the direction of the food.

 

[MyrtenRose]

TIME SKIP OF INDETERMINATE LENGTH

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

The Vytal festival. A special occasion meant to celebrate the peace between all four kingdoms, to bring the world closer together. Something that unified the world after it had almost torn itself apart. But the message being broadcasted now was anything but good. The latest fight in the tournament ended in tragedy. Penny Polendina...her fight had been a spectacular one to observe. Her opponent's bladework was nothing to scoff at either. Both fighters ended up at aura levels dangerously close to completely gone. Unbeknownst to either of them, one of the many observers in the arena had been waiting for exactly this.

Penny launched her swords at her opponent, a barrage of blades intended to finish it. The observer discreetly reached out with her semblance and all those blades found their path subtly shifted, giving her opponent an opening. One that he predictably took advantage of, charging in with a swing of his own giant weapon. The observer reached out again, not only giving that swing significant extra push, but also keeping the metal Penny rooted to the spot and unable to dodge in any fashion.

The attack hit, much harder than expected. Penny's face twisted in pain. The opponent's face shifted into undisguised shock. The redheaded observer smirked. And as Penny fell apart, cut quite cleanly into two, a whole arena fell eerily quiet. The lights in the innocent robot's eyes faded, her pupils dilating as she shut down. The crowds recoiled from the scene taking place before them, the emotions of alarm or shock or sadness resonating within most of them. And they were barely given a minute to process what had just happened. A voice echoed out of every loudspeaker, heard all the more clearly in the deathly silence. A voice that sought to sow conflict among those present, to provoke fear and sadness in everyone gathered around the arena and the many more watching from their homes. A voice that wanted to bring chaos.

That purpose was achieved.

All the negative emotions hanging in the air called out to the Grimm. Goliaths, Deathstalkers, and all manners of Grimm were on the march. They ran rampant into the city streets below the floating colosseum. Inside the arena itself, large screens flashing the word WARNING in bright orange letters suddenly popped up, followed by a synthesized voice broadcasting the following:

"Warning. Incoming Grimm attack, threat level: nine. Please seek shelter in a calm and orderly fashion."

The crowds were anything but that, starting to run and flee wildly in sheer panic. Another voice, one Cinder recognized as the voice of General Ironwood, was quick to follow. He urged people to not panic. A wise but ultimately useless gesture, as the sound of a Nevermore letting out a deafening screech followed right after, the beast already pecking and clawing at the force field above them all. Cinder was out of her seat and on her feet in an instant along with her whole team. "A Nevermore?!"

"But...the city's defenses--" Tyrian started before being cut off by their leader who already had his scroll out and was sifting through the screens. "They aren't enough for this much Grimm." Arthur stated, concerned but not surprised. "The panicking crowds are certain to bring more. Way more."

That assessment had Cinder exchange worried glances with Hazel.

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

From her seat in the headmistress's office, Salem was watching in horror, eyes moving from screen to screen revealing Grimm all over wreaking havoc. Glynda and Raven were quick to run into the room. "Salem--" The latter started, getting cut off almost immediately as Salem barked an order at the two.

"Get to the city!"

"But-"

"NOW!" She yelled resolutely, leaving no room for further discussion. The two experienced huntresses exchanged a look before they turned back and exited the way they came. With them gone, Salem turned her attention back to the outside. She stepped up to the giant window, blue eyes staring intently at the fleet of ships hovering in position over the city of Vale.

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

Most of those ships were opening fire on many of the Grimm soaring through the sky, though several of the monsters managed to latch aboard the craft and were currently trying to rip their way into them. But one ship was conspicuously not doing a thing to try and stem the hordes. A call to said ship went unanswered and not long after, said ship turned and fired on another one, bringing it down crashing onto a third one and putting both out of commission, leaving a hole in the aerial defenses.

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

An opening in the air defenses that was quickly exploited, as a great number of stolen Bullhead aircraft flew through the gap, making their way for Beacon Academy. As they landed on its outskirts, the one in the very front opened up to reveal a young woman laughing her head off, a hammer bigger than she was resting against her shoulder. "Go on then, show these hypocrites what happens when they lord themselves over us!" She bellowed to her fellow criminals. "The Shadow Fang should be arriving shortly! We're not going to let those animals outdo us, are we?!"

"NEVER!"

"So what are you waiting for?" She grinned wildly, leaping out of the ship and with one swing of the hammer instantly sent one poor Atlas soldier flying into the middle of the pack of Grimm he had just been firing at, the lot quickly swarming the unfortunate man.

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

By this time the Nevermore had managed to shatter the weakened force field, dropping violently to the arena floor and sending both the distraught fighter and the remains of Penny flying off the ring. It let out a painful shriek, moving forward to attack. It didn't get very far. Now that the forcefield wasn't in the way, a cascade of lockers slammed into the Nevermore and pinned it to the ground, each opening up in short order to reveal the weapons of all the students gathered around.

Cinder and her team, save for Hazel, were quick to grab their weapons before the Nevermore got up and they then engaged the beast as one, each of them letting out a ferocious battle cry in contrast to the Grimm's screeching. The other students were swift to follow.

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

This was the situation those who had been ripped from their world and dropped into this one saw before them. Whatever they had been doing previous, whether it be training or traveling or eating or anything else, the last thing they remembered was drifting into a sudden sleep in the middle of it. When their eyes opened again, it wasn't to the sight of wherever they had been. Now they were here, scattered around all over. Some found themselves awakening in the city of Vale, some in the higher levels of the now mostly abandoned and empty Amity Arena, and others still around Beacon Academy, with Grimm swarming all over the whole area like it was an all you can eat buffet.

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

To say Ruby Rose was incredibly confused would be putting it extremely lightly. The last thing she recalled, she and Harriet had been competing against each other in a timed race. The Atlesian huntress was among the best in Atlas, that much was clear. But Ruby was nevertheless keeping up with the other speedster. Or had she been. She had felt herself slowing, a strange sensation rippling through her until she had stopped moving entirely. She dropped to the floor, catching the sound of Harriet calling out to her in concern but she couldn't even get a word out in reply before everything had gone dark.

And when she came to, Harriet wasn't anywhere in sight. Neither were any of the other Ace-Ops. Nor was she in the training room of Atlas Academy. A scattering of discarded popcorn tubs, drink cups and other snacks were littered all over the floor in front of her face, and when she jumped to her feet, she was able to recognize where she was. "...The communications tower?" Ruby scratched her head in utter confusion. This was definitely the upper stands of the arena but she hadn't been anywhere near here. How did I--

The sound of a LOUD screech interrupted her thoughts and caught her attention, head snapping over in the direction the sound came from. Far below her she could see a Nevermore down there in the middle of the ring, with a bunch of other much smaller figures darting around, clearly engaged in combat with the Grimm.

Her eyes widened at that weirdly familiar sight. "What?" She tore her gaze away from that, quickly looking all over the arena. None of the modifications to turn the colosseum into the communications tower General Ironwood and Atlas had been making, not a one of them was present. It looked just as it had during the Vytal festival. There was way more food and drinks littering the arena than just the ones she'd seen in front of her when she woke up, like 90% of the people had left in a hurry.

She returned to looking at the Nevermore, the memory of her picking up one of Penny's swords and rushing to defend Pyrrha from it flashed through her mind. So far everything felt like she was back there once again, but...it just didn't make sense. How did I...is this a dream? No, it can't be. I've only been up for a few hours, had a light breakfast before going to train. No way I'm asleep. Right?

Ruby looked to her left arm, right hand moving to give herself a pinch. Nothing. Nope. Not asleep. That confirmation did nothing to ease her confusion...but right now it wasn't the most pressing concern. She could figure it out later.

Her eyes narrowed in a glare at the Nevermore and she began racing down from the upper stands towards the arena ring.​

 

[MidwayLives]

"Do this, Ruby? Then we'll be one step closer to achieving the world we both desire."

"..."

Those words had felt so true. The weight upon them made her heart ache. Not out of remorse or anything like that but utter determination. It didn't matter who got in her way or what they did. She refused to fail the task she'd been given. Having ordered her weaker sister to stay out of her way, and unwilling to wait for the Shadow Claw to arrive to bolster their forces, Ruby set out to handle things herself. Such was the way she'd always done things and she hadn't failed him yet. Seeing all the Grimm through the eyeholes of her mask gave her that stinging pain in her stump but she couldn't let it slow her down. This pain was nothing compared to that which she'd deal out to those who got in her way.

Speaking of which....

"FREEZE!"

Ruby slowly turned to look at the Atlas soldiers who'd spotted her and raised their weapons. The Red Masque of Death was here too along with the Grimm and everything else?! This thing was turning into a total shitshow and it didn't show any signs of slowing down. Ruby took a step forward and spoke, all of the soldiers present feeling her hate-filled glare burning into them even with the mask hiding away her eyes leaving them only empty wells of darkness to look at.

"Get out of my way and I'll let you live. I'm not here for you..."

The soldiers were afraid, she could feel it, the beads of sweat rolling down their chins and the unsteady grip on their weapons. There was no place for fear in the world Ozpin and her planned to bring about. No need for anyone or anything to be afraid anymore. She'd root the fear out of them one way or another. Pulling Crescent Rose from her back and unfolding it as light glistened off the sheen of her blade, she rushed forward, slashing into the nearest soldier and sending him crashing to the ground like a bag of meat. As the soldiers fired in a desperate attempt to tag her, she continued to lash out like a raging beast, screams and the sounds of bodies hitting the floor until out of the group that had confronted her, only one remained. Knocking the gun from his hands, she looked down at him with the sole of her boot pressed against his chest, Crescent Rose shifted to it's rifle form.

"Why?"

"Wha-What??"

"Why did you look at me with those fearful eyes?"

Before he could even understand enough to try and reply, she pulled the trigger. Stepping off his body and letting her cape billow behind her, her gaze hardened behind her mask as she overlooked the chaos around her. "I'm not afraid. I will find you..." And off she went to continue her mission, a rose petal gently landing on the chest of the last soldier she'd killed.

~~~



It'd felt so sudden and yet warm like water cascading gently off a duck's back. The last thing she recalled was going over the steps in her head of the plan that she AND Cinder had come up with. Cinder....Bossy cow nobody with so much power it was clearly going to her head. The two were supposed to be partners, something Neo had to accept in her heart because with the power Cinder possessed a drawn out fight wouldn't have ended as she wanted it. Still, if the appropriate levels of respect weren't show and soon? Someone was getting STABBED! But then she'd felt a strange feeling overtake her and soon, it was nothing but darkness all around her.

When she finally awoke, she felt that her bed had become strangely uncomfortable. It felt as if she'd been sleeping on the cold hard ground or something. Oh. It WAS the cold hard ground she'd apparently been resting on. Well, that didn't seem right. Neither did the hordes of Grimm all around and people running and screaming in terror. Normally, she wouldn't have been put off by all the destruction, no, she'd probably have been more amused if nothing else. But this didn't feel right. Had that bitch felt she couldn't do it and brought in the 'big guns' to get the job done?! Rising to her feet with a graceful yet angry twirl, she bit her thumb in whatever direction Cinder probably was. Acknowledging the growls of a hungry Beowulf behind her, Neo backflipped through the air and and with nary a movement wasted, drew the blade from the handle of Hush and jabbed it straight into the creature's skull. As it started to fall, she pulled the blade back and took another good look around.

This didn't feel right. This didn't seem right at all. Why did everything here feel so...familiar?

"...!"

This looked as it did back in her last mission with...him. But why was that the case? Why was she here? WHY had she been unceremoniously dumped onto the ground-She'd seen a trail of rose petals left as something rushed past her. Taking a moment or two to blink...

...She still didn't have a clue what was going on but explanations would have to wait. She had some business to settle. Changing into a form that she believed Lil Red would most susceptible to, she ran up with her hand outstretched, eager to place a hand on her little sister's shoulder and totally not snap that little whelp's neck!~ But as she closed in, she started to notice things seemed off about Red. Where were the rest of that little motley crew she called a team, why was she wearing that mask, and...why was there blood on her scythe...?

*SWISH!*

Jumping back, her eyes widened, having deftly avoided the unsuspected attack. Had her disguise been seen through so easily?? As she watched Ruby slam the bottom of Crescent Rose's handle against the ground, she slowly looked over her shoulder with a look that was absolutely smoldering. "Yang. You're my sister and as my sister, I've an obligation to protect you and so I told you to stay out of my way until Blake got here and yet here you are. DOING. JUST. THAT!" Her shoulders rising up and down as she exhaled, Ruby took a longer look at her 'sister.' Had her sister done a sudden outfit change in midst of the battle? No, that didn't seem right at all. "You..." Ruby reared back Crescent Rose. "You're not my sister..." Swinging it down and rushing in for a few berzerk swipes, Yang!Neo was caught off guard by the ferocity that she'd expected from that blonde brute but not this one! "I'll give you one chance to answer truthfully. Tell me where my sister is...OR ELSE!!!"

"...???!" What was going on here???

~~~



Everything was going good until it just...stopped.

What with happened with Penny and now the Grimm? Everything just felt like it was falling apart. Roman could feel his breath hitching, But...He couldn't let this get him all worked up. He was older and had trained for this! He could do this! Drawing Melodic Cudgel, Roman took aim and fired! His weapon wasn't exactly the most devastating around but what else could he do? Stand around and look like a frightened child? No! He had to be strong not just for his team but... Looking over to where he presumed Neo to be(i.e not that far from his side), he frowned. The two of them had been through so much together, seen things that he doubted either of them would ever forget.

"I'm here now..."

Feeling his grip growing tighter on the handle of his weapon, he looked towards the Nevermore and fired another shot.

"Let's go, Team MTEN!"
​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

“...Sooooo…”

“...So?”

Yang and Blake exited the locker room after their training for the day was cut short by goverment mandated free time. Yang was still drying her hair, pointedly not making eye contact despite drawing Blake’s attention in the first place. “Sooo… what do you wanna do?” She eventually asked. “Ironwood kinda dropped this on us outta nowhere.”

“Well… Ruby said we were all invited to Robyn’s party.” Blake eventually suggested

“...Yeeeaaaaaah,” Yang started with a small wince as she draped the towel across her shoulder “but what if we… did something that wasn’t that?” she asked. “Like, not with the team.”

“Why?” Blake asked, a slightly confused frown on her face.

“Oh, I dunno, uh. Just so…” … so that she could get some time with Blake that wasn’t either within 100 feet of her baby sister or on comms with one of the most powerful people in Remnant was the answer, but it was a lot harder to say than she was expecting. “So that… ehhh nevermind lets just go-”

“HIIII GIRLS.”

“Oh gods.”

“No gods here, just Neon, though I’d see how you’d get confused~” The other cat faunus was suddenly between the pair with her arms around their shoulders, pulling them in close as she whispered conspiritorially while they walked. “So, hey, we got off on the wrong foot in Vale.”

“No, you’re the only who messed up their footwork. It was on camera and everything.” Yang shot back with an eyeroll and a dull frown, fighting the urge to shrug Neon off.

“Yang, be nice. Let her apologize with some dignity” Blake chastised slightly with a smirk

“Well then.” Neon replied with a sniff. “I was gonna ask if you ladies wanted to join my team tonight for a few dance clubs, but I can see when I’m not wanted. Your loss!” she said, starting to release them

“Wait!” Yang snatched Neon’s arm before it could get all the way off her. “We’re in.”

“W-we are?” Blake asked, startled

“Yea!" Yang replied with enough enthusiasm to convince both herself and Blake "You’re right, we got off on the wrong foot. Besides, I’ve been wanting to see what Atlas has to offer, and better to do that kinda thing with a local right?”

“Great! I knew you two would be game, but uh, leave the kiddies at home, 'kay? Ruby’s too young, and I don’t need the Schnee complaining about the lack of doilies, or something.” Neon said with a snort

Yang’s soul suddenly left her entirely, her eyes glazing over as she gave the hallway a thousand yard stare long enough that both the faunus started to look at her with concern before she shook her head. “Sure, yea, totally, give us a time and place and whatever, we’ll be there.”

“Cool! We’ll see if you Vale girls can keep up. See yaaaa~” Neon teased with smirk before she let go and pushed off their backs, skating down the hall to whatever rhythm was in her headphones.

Blake watched her go, before she glanced at Yang with a raised brow. “So… why are we doing this? I thought you didn’t like her”

“What, like her? Who said anything about anyone liking anyone?" She asked, her voice going a little higher than she wanted it to "No, no, definitely not, but c’mon Blake this’ll be fun! If I’m ever gonna unburn that bridge, why not start somewhere so loud I can’t hear her? What, are you trying to cut out on a dance with me again?” She teased, nudging Blake with her elbow. The faunus grinned and looked away, brushing the side of her hair out off her ear as a convenient excuse to hide her blush. “... I’m not opposed to the ide- Yang? Yang! Are you okay-”


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

Yang’s eye’s snapped open, her breathing heavy as she stared at the ceiling. Or rather the bottom of the bed above her. “...What the…” She sat up on the bed, rubbing at her eyes before she looked around the room. It was dark, with a single window between two pairs of bunkbeds. What sounded like Sirens were blaring off in the distance, and she could almost make out the voice of some announcement or another. This… this looked like Beacon. Like the night…

She took a deep breath, her hands clutching at the bed sheets as she tried to calm herself. She was over this. She put that demon to bed, and by to bed she meant over a cliff with multiple stab wounds. She hadn’t had this dream for months. So why…

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

Neo, was, in fact, Not with Roman and the rest of team MTEN. A prank that, somehow, Professor Goodwitch hadn’t found hilarious had landed her in detention, and she’d mournfully been stuck watching her teammate’s match from the confines of her dorm room when all the proverbial shit had hit the fan and the nonproverbial Nevermore slammed into the stadium. Her stomach had dropped to the floor, and while her first thought was of her own team, she nonetheless felt obligated to make sure none of her other friends were still in the dorm room as she practically slammed the door to Team WTCH’s door open to see if any of them were still in there and who was that?

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

When Neo smashed her way into the room, Yang was so surprised she actually bit her tongue. Which hurt, and more importantly, told her this wasn't a dream



That answered why.

“...So. That mean’s you jerks are already here, huh?”

“..?”

“Where. Is. My. Team?”

“...???”

Yang pushed herself up the from bed and rolled her neck, her prosthetic hand cracking the knuckles on her real one before she grinned at Neo with a ferocity that made the young huntress in training step back. She didn’t remember Neo’s powers being this good at illusions, but hey, she’d grown, so who’s to say the worst person ever hadn’t either? “Still not talking, huh? Good. Means I don’t have to hold back from THIS!”

Neo barely got to think about why this strange girl knew she didn’t talk before the fist slammed into her face, smashing her clean through the wall to MTEN’s doorm and sending her to the ground in a heap of plaster and dust, coughing as she stumbled back to her feet-

Neo ducked the next punch with a startled gasp of air, and when Yang’s followup kick connected, the Neo it hit shattered into a million pieces. She growled in frustration and leaped back into the hallway just in time to see a flash of pink disappearing around a corner, and Neo heard the sound of Ember Celica going off behind her as Yang propelled herself forward to give chase. “GET BACK HERE!”

 

[MyrtenRose]

She had started sprinting down towards the ring at near full speed with the intent to help those down there, but by the time she was at the bottom of the stands she had slowed to a complete stop, only able to stand there and watch. Her confusion increased by about a thousand-fold, because she could plainly see the people fighting the Grimm now. And while she recognized several of them like team CFVY and SSSN and some of the ones from Haven, she also recognized...well-sorta-recognized others in a far less pleasant way. The one that had his arms around both of the Nevermore's legs and was somehow keeping it from achieving flight was a significantly-smaller-but-still-big-beardless Hazel. The man that had almost killed her uncle with poison was there as well, firing upon the Grimm alongside...Roman Torchwick??????????????????????? And then there was...her, loosing several arrows right into the monster's eyes. Just as she had buried an arrow right in...

The Nevermore faded away into nothing, succumbing under the combined assault but before Cinder or any of the others could celebrate the victory, there was a loud whoosh and Ruby now stood mere feet in front of the MURDERER, directing a cold glare over at Cinder. She didn't say a single word, but her eyes shined bright and in a single flash she unleashed the power of her laser beam eyes, knowing for sure that they would affect Cinder.

They didn't.

When the light receded, Cinder remained standing there. Her body language and the look on her face both screamed excuse me, what? The fall maiden looked over to Tyrian, who could only shrug, then her gaze moved to Hazel who just shook his head, before they went back to looking at Ruby. "......Can I help you, Miss..."

Ruby's cold expression had been replaced with confusion at the failure. How? "Don't play games, you know very well who I am! I don't know what you're trying to achieve here but it won't work!"

"??? All I did was help kill that--" A super speed sucker punch interrupted her, knocking her to the floor with a pained grunt. She rubbed at her jaw where she had been hit before she got back up and returned a glare right back at Ruby. "What the hell was that???" She angrily demanded to know. The silver-eyed warrior had been expecting a counter-attack but since none seemed to be coming, Ruby ignored her, rounding on Roman. "ROMAN TORCHWICK!"

"Explain how you are alive! I watched you die!...….And explain what's going on here too while you're at it!" Ruby questioned, her hands holding Crescent Rose in a ready position because yeah, a lot of these people were enemies...even if some were smaller and looked younger.

Even Cinder, despite wanting to know what that punch could have possibly been for, looked over at Roman. He was decidedly not dead...what was this girl on about?

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

The airship doors slid open, and Blake looked down at the school below, the eyes behind her mask glinting in the dark of the night. Grimm were already rampaging through the school grounds, but this was a school for hunters; While there had been a few casualties here and there, it looked like the students were beginning to organize themselves, with the help of their teachers’ guidance. If left to their own devices, they’d undoubtedbly establish a foothold, turning Beacon into a safe haven in this night of chaos and potentially sallying forth to screw with the plans their allies had oh so carefully prepared over the last few months. Again.

Not this time. Amateur hour was over. Why it had taken so long for their benefactor to turn to her directly, rather than letting some lunatic human with a hammer borrow her shadow fang soldiers like disposable toys, she didn’t know, but clearly they’d learn their lesson. Vale would fall today, and Beacon would not be its savior.

“ We will not let the humans’ so called defenders rally.”

“The faunus students?” Asked the masked soldier nearest to her, the feathers that covered his scalp billowing in the turbulence from the air ships

“...Try to leave them out of it if you can. But they chose this life, to side with the systems that hold us all in check. Do what you have to. Now go”

The order was quiet, yet the response was immediate, as dozens and dozens of faunus in red and blake masks dropped out of the airships surrounding beacon and into the chaos below. What had started to become an established battle line suddenly shattered as gunfire and grimm claws were suddenly tearing into them from both sides. Blake watched the proceedings from above for a few moments, watching for where kept the strongest resistance. When she located it, she leaned forward out of the airship and into the night sky, falling straight for the thickest of the fight. Where she landed, a student with a mace turned just in time to smash another shadowfang shoulder across the face with it, sending the man flying flying to the side hard enough to crack one of the decorative pillars around Beacon's courtyard. "Ugh, what the hell??? First grimm, now these losers?! What the hell is going on?"

"Nothing you're going to have to worry about in a moment"

"Wha-" the student blinked and turned just in time to time to catch an elbow to the face, and in a flurry of slashes he found himself rolling across the courtyard with his aura almost completely drained. He punched the ground in frustration and pushed himself up to his feet, just in time to see his teammate charge at his assailant with his own weapons raised and a battle cry. "Skylar, wait-!"

The slash tore straight through the enemy like butter, and Skylar blinked in surprise at his own success before he looked up with a grin. "HAH. See Cardin? I can pull my own weight-" A gunshot joiend the stacatto of violence that surrounded them from the melee, and a black blur shot out from above them to wrap around Skylar's neck. He barely had time to blink before he was suddenly yanked into the air fast enough that he dropped his weapon, pulled up at the same speed as the black and white shape descending from the lampost above. Blake deftly landed and spiked Gambol shroud into the ground, the ribbon attached to it looping through the lamp and leaving skylar suspended in the air, flailing as he tried to breathe. Cardin stared in horror at his dangling friend as the faunus watched him, unmoving. She waited for a few seconds before she inwardly sighed, frustrated he wasn't taking the initiative to charge her.

"Looks like I can pull his weight too."

"...You BITCH" he roared, hefting his mace as it lit aflame via the dust crystal within before he charged forward with a wordless battlecry to his own doom.
-----------------------------------------------------


Arthur Watts panted as he rested on one knee in front of the slowly fading nevermore, his dust pistol still raised at the corpse as if concerned it was going to get back up and start moving again. When it didn’t he took a deep breath and rose to his feet while he holstered his pistol before he straightened the tie on his uniform with a worried frown. “Right. Exciting as that was, we’ve still got far bigger problems to worry about. Perhaps we should make for Beacon, see if-”

He was halfway to drawing the pistol again when he let out an ack of surprise as Ruby unleashed the silver eyes at point blank range, his arm raised involuntarily to shield his own eyes until it faded. “...Aren’t you the girl from Mistral academy- HEY!” The pistol finally made its way out of its holster to point at Ruby as his teammate got a fist to the face “I know whatever’s going on is very stressful miss, but if I may be blunt its seems to have put you completely out of your mind! Are you trying to draw the grimm on top of us???”

 

[MidwayLives]

​

The Nevermore faded away into nothing, succumbing under the combined assault but before Cinder or any of the others could celebrate the victory, there was a loud whoosh and Ruby now stood mere feet in front of the MURDERER, directing a cold glare over at Cinder. She didn't say a single word, but her eyes shined bright and in a single flash she unleashed the power of her laser beam eyes, knowing for sure that they would affect Cinder.

They didn't.

When the light receded, Cinder remained standing there. Her body language and the look on her face both screamed excuse me, what? The fall maiden looked over to Tyrian, who could only shrug, then her gaze moved to Hazel who just shook his head, before they went back to looking at Ruby. "......Can I help you, Miss..."

"Sorry birdie, I guess your wings just got clipped!" Roman snapped, giving Melodic Cudgel a good bend. If there was anything left other than ashes? He'd have shot that too. These creatures were horrible and foul and now they were descending upon his current abode like a swarm of persistent insects. Or like a horde, yeah, horde sounded a lot more menacing. But then quicker than he could realize, someone had appeared in their midst. She looked young enough to be a student like them. "Hey! Sorry, looks like you got here a bit late-"

*silver eye stuff*

"...What??" Then before he could properly react, Cinder got decked. "What?!" He repeated but he saved the biggest surprise at what Ruby said next.
​

"??? All I did was help kill that--" A super speed sucker punch interrupted her, knocking her to the floor with a pained grunt. She rubbed at her jaw where she had been hit before she got back up and returned a glare right back at Ruby. "What the hell was that???" She angrily demanded to know. The silver-eyed warrior had been expecting a counter-attack but since none seemed to be coming, Ruby ignored her, rounding on Roman. "ROMAN TORCHWICK!"

"Explain how you are alive! I watched you die!...….And explain what's going on here too while you're at it!" Ruby questioned, her hands holding Crescent Rose in a ready position because yeah, a lot of these people were enemies...even if some were smaller and looked younger.

Even Cinder, despite wanting to know what that punch could have possibly been for, looked over at Roman. He was decidedly not dead...what was this girl on about?

"Uhhh, lil Red-can I call you Lil Red?-I know, I know, I'm pretty handsome. Not a day goes by where people don't fall over themselves for Roman Torchwick but I can say with the utmost certainty.." Roman paused and gave a light shrug of his shoulders."I've never seen you before! What's more, me?? Dead??" Roman gestured to himself. "Unless that was some kind of weirdly worded threat, I'm alive and well!" As for what was happening, Roman gestured all around himself. "Well, there's Grimm and probably lots of other stuff. So we have that going on...Now, uh, if you don't mind ME asking a question..."

Roman paused to clear his throat.

"Who ARE you??"
​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"Gotta say, this feels like overkill."

He never was the biggest fan of snow. Made it hard to fly somewhere in a hurry if he had to, especially when it was really coming down like it was tonight. It certainly hadn't helped the creature in front of him, a lone Nevermore that obviously hadn't been able to get south of Solitas before the blizzards got particularly bad. Grimm physiology was certainly tenacious, but species prevalent in Vale didn't tend to do so great in the harsher conditions up north; To that much, he could relate. Something bad always seemed to happen to him when he came to Atlas.

Usually it took a pretty heavy surge of negative emotion in a populated area to make a Nevermore bother coming down from on high, but pickings out this way were slim and this one had been worrying the Amity project's construction crew for a while. Probably the cold snap getting the workers all testy. The foreman had seen it circling that morning and asked for Ironwood's best, and there they were—Not that he liked being referred to as one of Ironwood's all that much. Desperate times had a habit of making sure old grudges got left by the wayside. He watched inscrutably as the creature's death twitches subsided and its corpse instantly started dissipating into the gloom around it, solid matter giving way to shadows and mist. The girthy blade embedded deep in its skull came loose, landing in a snow mound with a soft thump, and as the last of the Nevermore vanished he couldn't help but let a tiny smirk of irony come to the fore. Sorry, brother.

"Qrow Branwen, always pessimistic."

The voice that chimed in from behind was pronounced and articulate where his was a lackadaisical growl, but it drew a snort from him all the same. He dug his boot under the mound of snow Harbinger was nestled in, a sharp kick sending it spinning up to where he could snatch it out of the air with effortless style.

"That's realistic. James could've sent one of my nieces to handle a Nevermore. Doesn't seem worth it, getting the two of us out here like this."

The other man chuckled and rubbed his head. "Well... That was my call, actually. Your nieces and their friends are off duty tonight. You were with the Mantle garrison, but everything's quiet there. When this special assignment came in I thought you might appreciate the chance to stretch your legs."

"Huh." Nice thought. He wasn't in the habit of making friends who wasted those on him. He pulled out a flask, thankfully of a different nature to the one he used to carry as he unscrewed the lid and sniffed the soupy contents, piping-hot. Aura protected them from the worst effects of the cold, obviously, but it was good to have something on hand to keep their core body temperature up. He took a swig as he squinted into the distance, the skeleton of Amity Tower just about visible past the hilltops in the distance, and passed the flask over to the Ace-Ops leader. "Sorry I don't have more than soup to offer in return. You think your boss's plan is gonna work?"

Clover looked at him thoughtfully as he eagerly helped himself to a mouthful, though the response he gave was dutiful. "General Ironwood and some of the best minds in Atlas agree that-"

"I asked what you think." Qrow made eye contact, folding his arms with an expression best described as noncommittal.

The other man sighed. "I think... the general is a great man doing his best during a dark time. He won't stop until he finds a way to beat this. I know it sounds like a lot of blind faith, but... if you'd seen how strong his will is? You'd know what I mean."

Qrow's own sigh was deeper, more weary. "That sounds... Familiar."

Clover held his gaze, curious. "I don't know much about the man you worked with... Ozpin. The way you talk about him, maybe he wasn't who you thought he was. But the general... it's hard to explain, but he's always been transparent about what he means to do and how he intends to do it. And he always follows through. I don't know if we can win. But I believe that if anyone can lead us there, it's him."

He turned away in response, eyes wandering back towards the arena-turned-communications array in solemn contemplation. When he spoke again, however, it was with the reintroduction of levity. "Heh. Okay, but if it turns out you're wrong I'm gonna kick your ass."

The military op laughed earnestly at that. "I wouldn't be so sure. Things have a habit of working out for m-"

---

Gone.

Gone was the cold, the tower and the Ace Op. Qrow came to his senses after a period of time unknown to him, having no idea when he lost them to begin with. No. This wasn't right. He knew that floor, those gears. Those explosions in the distance...

"What...?" He turned to face that weird giant window Oz was always standing at, and the person he saw standing there had his features screw up with confusion, then recognition, then anger. "WHAT?!"

A lot of different thoughts rolled around his skull in that moment, mostly drowning each other out. He wished he had a drink. (No he didn't.) What was this? Where was... Anyone? And how could she be here, looking like that?

"...Okay."

Sometimes it was best not to overthink these things.

"OKAY, I'LL BITE!"

This Salem suddenly had a new concern to deal with on top of all her others, in the shape of an extremely large scythe arcing towards her neck with terrifying skill.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

He was halfway to drawing the pistol again when he let out an ack of surprise as Ruby unleashed the silver eyes at point blank range, his arm raised involuntarily to shield his own eyes until it faded. “...Aren’t you the girl from Mistral academy- HEY!” The pistol finally made its way out of its holster to point at Ruby as his teammate got a fist to the face “I know whatever’s going on is very stressful miss, but if I may be blunt its seems to have put you completely out of your mind! Are you trying to draw the grimm on top of us???”

"...from Mistral? No? I go...I went to school at Beacon." She hesitated, looking up to the sky to see if the Griffons would show their ugly faces...but they did not. At least not yet. "Do...do you know me?" Ruby questioned, curiosity winning out. She didn't recognize this guy in the slightest but he seemed to mistake her for somebody at the very least.

"Uhhh, lil Red-can I call you Lil Red?

"No."

"Not a day goes by where people don't fall over themselves for Roman Torchwick but I can say with the utmost certainty.." Roman paused and gave a light shrug of his shoulders."I've never seen you before! What's more, me?? Dead??" Roman gestured to himself. "Unless that was some kind of weirdly worded threat, I'm alive and well!"

"..." First it was Cinder actually helping out to put down a Grimm, instead of watching them wreak havoc with a smile on her face. Then her silver eyes, they didn't work on her like they had at Beacon or at Haven...and Cinder herself didn't seem to know her. Hazel was younger, smaller. Tyrian...Ruby looked to him next, standing off to the side and clearly bewildered, with a lot less laughter and attempted murder. Now there was Roman, saying he'd never seen her before...and the whole thing with him being alive. Even Emerald and Mercury were just off to the side, looking about as lost as the rest of them. "Something...something is very wrong here." She lowered her weapon somewhat.

As for what was happening, Roman gestured all around himself. "Well, there's Grimm and probably lots of other stuff. So we have that going on...Now, uh, if you don't mind ME asking a question..."

Roman paused to clear his throat.

"Who ARE you??"

She looked around to all of them. "You really don't know. None of you." She commented. How could that be? It was hard to wrap her head around. "I'm Ruby. Are...are you all huntsmen and huntresses?"

"Of course we are, you moron!" Cinder growled, still pissed from that sucker punch. "And we're kind of under attack, so if you can quit being a pest and let us do our duty, that would be greeeeeeeeeeeeat." Ruby sighed at that, but it was a valid point. There were Grimm that needed slaying, and a lot more problems to deal with, if she really was reliving the Fall of Beacon all over again...or someone's twisted and backwards version of it anyway. "I can help."

 

[MyrtenRose]

"What...?" He turned to face that weird giant window Oz was always standing at, and the person he saw standing there had his features screw up with confusion, then recognition, then anger. "WHAT?!"

A lot of different thoughts rolled around his skull in that moment, mostly drowning each other out. He wished he had a drink. (No he didn't.) What was this? Where was... Anyone? And how could she be here, looking like that?

"...Okay."

The sound of another voice in the room got her to blink in shock, both because she had been certain she was the only one in the room. She had just literally ordered the other two out seconds ago...and because it was a voice she recognized. "Qrow?" Salem turned away from the window to look towards--

Sometimes it was best not to overthink these things.

"OKAY, I'LL BITE!"

This Salem suddenly had a new concern to deal with on top of all her others, in the shape of an extremely large scythe arcing towards her neck with terrifying skill.

That. As if there wasn't enough problems. Salem stood unmoving as the scythe came in, she didn't even seem worried in the slightest. Yet just as the scythe came in, it stopped mere inches from actually hitting its target, held there with telekinetic force. Without moving her head, her eyes looked over to the side where the two had burst back into the room once more, the door slamming shut loudly behind Raven. If she was a betting woman, she would have put money on the sudden shouting and the sounds of Qrow's weapon transforming being responsible. "Thank you, Glynda." Salem acknowledged with a cool politeness as if she had not been about to get sliced by a giant scythe.

She refocused on the male Branwen twin. "Funny. I thought your sister was the one who could just pop up out of thin air." She stated dryly, still remaining standing in the same spot. "Now...perhaps we can talk about this, hmm? What brings you here, now, Qrow? Getting bored of being king of the bandits?"

 

[Gus Gungus]

It was almost easy to miss. What was one more fleet of hijacked bullheads among many? With all the chaos, the Atlesian fleet out of commission and the skies and ground alike swarming with Grimm, for all anyone knew they were just more siege reinforcements coming to lay waste to the academy.

Just more monsters.

She was going to make them all see.

Standing at the mouth of the airship with one hand gripping the handhold for stability, wanted extremist Eve Taurus watched the fall of Beacon Academy unfold, face locked in a portrait of rigid neutrality for as much of it as was visible under her mask. She wished she could've trusted Blake enough not to leave spies, not to plant more when they were captured or run off. With the massive influx of recruits she and her new benefactors were amassing, it had gotten easier and easier to slip her people into the splinter faction's ranks; sometimes, when they were lucky, into even Blake's own camps or hideouts. She couldn't let her do anything rash, she told herself. Her and Sienna's 'Shadow Fang' danced on the precipice of deteriorating human-faunus relations beyond all hope of repair— of starting another war. With the faunus scattered, divided, at each other's throats and still pinned under the heel of oppression? They'd lose. She couldn't allow that. She had to know what Blake was doing in case she ever had to stop her from doing anything stupid.

That was what she told herself.

Her agents' reports were infuriating. Human benefactors? The Mountain Glenn breach? Letting their people be used like puppets in the schemes of criminal organisations? What was she even trying to achieve anymore? The Vale chapter of the White Fang, while depleted, hadn't exactly been idle themselves. They still cut off SDC supply routes, still took the fruits of mistreated faunus's labours by force, still fought to eliminate inequality and free persecuted faunus from their chains. She couldn't go back to the Belladonnas in Menagerie after what she'd done, and the fact was even after everything she still thought they were weak. Institutionalised. They were dirt in the human's eyes, and that was a problem that could never be resolved the humans' way, politicking and bootlicking their way to more empty promises and false progress until they landed in their graves without ever having achieved anything. She chose another path, committed to the liberation and independence of all faunus at the expense of anyone with an active hand in keeping them enslaved. She thought that was what Sienna wanted, what Blake wanted, and it took her far too long to realise their disregard for all human lives was something else entirely. She had been blinded. Blinded by so many things.

Not anymore.

And what she saw...

Her face betrayed no emotion save the faint makings of a dark grimace, but that didn't reflect the storm raging in her chest.

Blake, what did you do?

She genuinely didn't know. Whoever Sienna was working with had kept to the shadows, a strict chain of command preventing their true orders from ever being discerned. What she did know was that a few days prior the Shadow Fang had started to mobilise for something big. Bigger than anything they'd ever attempted before. Something which, she suspected, could have dire consequences for their people if their involvement came to light. When that time came, she'd decided the White Fang would be there to meet them—To show the humans that not all faunus, nor even all faunus who fought against their tyranny, stood with these monsters.

The time was now.

They were nearing the drop zone, the screams and sounds of battle drawing nearer and nearer. Behind her, a squad of the White Fang's best stood ready, cocking their armaments and disengaging safeties. Ironically, it appeared Schnee Corp had unknowingly armed both sides of this particular conflict. These men and women knew what they were here to do; They knew their orders. Still, as combat drew closer and closer, some of them looked to her, furtive, even nervous. They wanted her to say something, that much she could tell. What, though? She made up most of this part as she went along, yet still they believed in her. The mask had never been intended to make her a symbol, but she was starting to think it almost didn't matter who was underneath it anymore. Maybe that was for the best.

Giving them a brief, fierce look over the shoulder, she kept her jaw tight and spoke with the voice of every oppressed faunus as one.

"Show them who we are."

---

"-Lisa Lavender of Vale News Network, broadcasting live from the streets of Vale to—I'm not even sure how far our signal is reaching—it is complete pandemonium down here, Grimm are taking to the streets as Atlesian forces fight to contain—Wait, we're just getting a report that the White Fang have reemerged during the battle at Beacon Academy, I repeat, the White Fang HAVE joined the battle at—wait, are you sure? Okay, we're now receiving word that the White Fang have ENGAGED the Shadow Fang forces already present, and appear to be aiding the students and faculty in—"

---

Eve was silent as she stalked the halls of Beacon in solitude, having dispatched the bulk of her forces to suppress the Shadow Fang and their allies and hopefully buy the academy's warriors time to regroup. In spite of her position, she was acutely aware she was best utilised as a solo operative rather than a battlefield commander, a task she left with one of her more trusted commanders as she cut her own bloody swath through the academy in the hopes of uncovering the truth behind what was happening.

She was just sheathing her sword in the immediate aftermath of dealing with some particularly aggressive Grimm when a voice called out from behind her, familiar and harsh.

"TAURUS! Turn around, traitor!"

He may have underwent a pallet swap to honor his new allegiance, but there was no mistaking him. Despite that, and despite his reputation for being an out-and-out butcher on the battlefield, she found herself having difficulty recalling his name. Lieutenant... Lieutenant...

He approached with pride and glowing confidence even as he revved up a chainsaw already stained crimson, Eve's mind choosing that moment to remind her of the fact that grimm didn't bleed.

"Always did want to see how I'd fare against you. When your head rolls at High Leader Sienna's feet, should I-"

The lieutenant barely registered that Eve was in front of him in time to cut off his sentence, though he was able to bring the bulk of his chainsaw up in a vertical guard in front of his body. Red filled his vision, and for a very brief instant he watched in disbelief as his mighty weapon slide apart in two pieces, the seam running through the middle so neat it could've been the work of a laser.

It was a very brief instant because he promptly fell apart in two pieces himself.

Eve stepped over the growing pool of blood and proceeded deeper into the school, unable to help the sneer from breaking out across her face. Lieutenant...

"Idiot."​

 

[Gus Gungus]

The sound of another voice in the room got her to blink in shock, both because she had been certain she was the only one in the room. She had just literally ordered the other two out seconds ago...and because it was a voice she recognized. "Qrow?" Salem turned away from the window to look towards--



That. As if there wasn't enough problems. Salem stood unmoving as the scythe came in, she didn't even seem worried in the slightest. Yet just as the scythe came in, it stopped mere inches from actually hitting its target, held there with telekinetic force. Without moving her head, her eyes looked over to the side where the two had burst back into the room once more, the door slamming shut loudly behind Raven. If she was a betting woman, she would have put money on the sudden shouting and the sounds of Qrow's weapon transforming being responsible. "Thank you, Glynda." Salem acknowledged with a cool politeness as if she had not been about to get sliced by a giant scythe.

She refocused on the male Branwen twin. "Funny. I thought your sister was the one who could just pop up out of thin air." She stated dryly, still remaining standing in the same spot. "Now...perhaps we can talk about this, hmm? What brings you here, now, Qrow? Getting bored of being king of the bandits?"

That was a lot of information to process all at once and basically none of it made any sense to him. His eyes went through a bunch of different emotions we're not gonna get into as they flicked from Salem, to Goodwitch, and then to his own sister, and he wrenched his scythe away from the telekinetic hold and let it backspin twice into a ready stance, still not convinced he wasn't gonna have to fight his way out of this.

"That's rich, asking me for an explanation when nothing in this room seems to make any kind of rational sense. See, if you were anything like the Salem I know I'm willing to bet I would've died painfully pulling that little stunt. Glynda Goodwitch would only act to protect professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy. And my sister, who's being her most charming self right now by declining to speak, leads that pack of degenerates we grew up in out in the wilds. And this..."

His eyes widened a little as he peered past her, gazing out over the destruction with a haunted look.

"...This is the Fall of Beacon... But you were behind this." His expression hardened again as he switched his gaze back to Salem, obviously distrustful. "Glynda, you and I fought through the streets that entire night. And you, Raven, you did what you always did: you stayed out of it."

He fell silent for a moment, trying to make heads or tails of it all. He wasn't having much luck. Typical.

"...If I got captured... just kill me. All you're gonna pull outta my brain are regrets."​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"...from Mistral? No? I go...I went to school at Beacon." She hesitated, looking up to the sky to see if the Griffons would show their ugly faces...but they did not. At least not yet. "Do...do you know me?" Ruby questioned, curiosity winning out. She didn't recognize this guy in the slightest but he seemed to mistake her for somebody at the very least.



"No."



"..." First it was Cinder actually helping out to put down a Grimm, instead of watching them wreak havoc with a smile on her face. Then her silver eyes, they didn't work on her like they had at Beacon or at Haven...and Cinder herself didn't seem to know her. Hazel was younger, smaller. Tyrian...Ruby looked to him next, standing off to the side and clearly bewildered, with a lot less laughter and attempted murder. Now there was Roman, saying he'd never seen her before...and the whole thing with him being alive. Even Emerald and Mercury were just off to the side, looking about as lost as the rest of them. "Something...something is very wrong here." She lowered her weapon somewhat.



She looked around to all of them. "You really don't know. None of you." She commented. How could that be? It was hard to wrap her head around. "I'm Ruby. Are...are you all huntsmen and huntresses?"

"Of course we are, you moron!" Cinder growled, still pissed from that sucker punch. "And we're kind of under attack, so if you can quit being a pest and let us do our duty, that would be greeeeeeeeeeeeat." Ruby sighed at that, but it was a valid point. There were Grimm that needed slaying, and a lot more problems to deal with, if she really was reliving the Fall of Beacon all over again...or someone's twisted and backwards version of it anyway. "I can help."

"I'm quite certain we would have noticed were you one of our classmates." Arthur snapped, tapping his foot impatiently. "No, you were in the systems as a student from Haven academy. If it weren't for how confused you seemed, I'd mark your suspicious behavior right now as deeply concerning given the mess we're on, but as is I'm just going to recommend you get checked for a concussion when our school is no longer being beset by grimm and who knows what else now can we please get a move on people?" He asked, exasperated.

"...though, for accuracy's sake, we're only students, not real hunstmen." He added with a sniff.


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

Beacon was a chaotic hell for almost everyone inside it currently, yet Neo was step past that in her panic. Some grimm were already stalking the halls of the school, and she slid under a beowolf in her mad dash, only to hear the cracks of gunfire and shrieks of dying grimm behind her, far, far too close for comfort. Part of her wished that she had a moment to breathe, to try and rack her brain and figure out just who the hell this person was, yet deep down she knew she could think all day and then a few days after and not get even a spark of recognition for this girl. Yet minutes before, when she dipped around the corner while a 'Neo' stopped at the intersection and put her hands up in a timeout gesture, its face bearing the most mourful, apologetic puppy dog eyes Neo could muster, the red eyed beast on her trail put a bullet through its head on sight, shattering it along with any future thoughts of trying to talk things out (in a manner of speaking) with this girl.

No. Her only options were to run or fight, and when she didn't have even a vague clue where Roman could be in this mess, wasting precious time fighting an opponent who she wasn't even sure she could beat wasn't worth it. So she ran. and kept running, because no matter what she pulled out of her rather impressive bag of tricks, she just couldn't seem to shake this girl. She rounded a corner-

The lieutenant barely registered that Eve was in front of him in time to cut off his sentence, though he was able to bring the bulk of his chainsaw up in a vertical guard in front of his body. Red filled his vision, and for a very brief instant he watched in disbelief as his mighty weapon slide apart in two pieces, the seam running through the middle so neat it could've been the work of a laser.

It was a very brief instant because he promptly fell apart in two pieces himself.

Eve stepped over the growing pool of blood and proceeded deeper into the school, unable to help the sneer from breaking out across her face. Lieutenant...

"Idiot."

-and skidded to a halt, a look of horror blanching across her features. That man was dead. There... there was so much blood. It oozed across the tiles inexorably outwards in every direction from the two halves, and striding right through the middle of it was a woman in a grimm mask. She stepped back, raising her parasol defensively without thinking about it. This was bad. The reality of the situation was eclipsing the absurdity of some blonde spectre of revenge chasing her for some unknown slight, the sight of a corpse somehow making the screams and battlecries from outside and within the building thud against her ears like wardrums now where'd they'd been a distraction moments earlier as she continued to backpedal-

bump.

Before she could even turn, a hand grabbed the front of her uniform and jerked her off the ground, lifting her up as she flailed in a panic. "Finally got.... you?"

...

If Neo was having a surreal day, Yang was completely disassociating from reality. She held Neo up with one hand, the other primed for a punch, frozen in place as she stared at Eve and the remains of her handiwork. She decided that she had to be dreaming even if she could feel pain, because only in some food poisoning or brain damage induced nightmare could she not only be in a hallway with the two individuals she absolutely hated on a personal level the most, and for it to be... weird instead of just a regular sort of bad. Why... why was he a she??? Was her brain trying to give her two very different kinds of dreams and just really, really messing up at achieving the goals of either? Why'd he kill some dude in a weird White Fang alternate uniform? Wait, wait. Wasn't that the guy Weiss nagged them all for weeks about how 'she certainly had him' and 'he only got lucky'? Why was he in her 'everyone I hate being at the worst point in my life' dream? Like, sure, she loved Weiss and all, but if her brain was working off any sort of list then that shoulda been like, Tyri-

Her dream was apparently done with letting her thoughts go on this tangent, because Neo's umbrella absolutely brained her upside the head, and she yelped in surprise as she let the slippery monster go. She rubbed the side of her chin as Neo rolled to the side and came up with parasol held aloft and a weirdly terrified look that didn't suit Yang's mental image of her at all. Seriously, that hurt. There's no way this was a dream. So what was it? Someone's semblance? Maybe she was dreaming, but it could actually hurt her if she wasn't careful?

Yea. She'd go with that. Dream based semblance from some Salem assassin or whatever. It was about as close to 'logical' as her brain could get here. She flexed her hands and clenched her fists, before she swung them twice into the air, the sound of ember celica chambering rounds filling the brief silence. "Ok, sure, why not. I'll take you both on! Who's first?!"

 

[MidwayLives]

This person was an impostor, a charlatan, someone who got by through cheap tricks like this. She didn't need any of that. There was on key to success: determination. No matter the obstacles presented in her path, she never let anything slow her down. She'd keep moving forward and it didn't matter who tried to stop her. She'd overcome them, just like everything else. As Yang!Neo narrowly avoided being eviscerated, Ruby's breaths weren't of a child who was exhausted and tired of playing. They were the opening act to the wolf finally showing it's fangs. Whoever this was had taken her sister's appeerance and to try and sneak attack her looking like this? The fact that this woman wasn't on her knees begging and divulging who she was and where she'd come from made her blood boil with every passing moment that she continued to look at her with those eyes.

"Ahhh....ahhh..."

~~~

Yang and her hadn't talked much, if at all, anymore. Whenever he asked Ruby to do something, she'd do it and if she felt somebody HAD to come along, she'd tell her sister to do it and she would without contention. It'd been like this since they were kids, Yang had always tried being the strong protective sibling. But when the cards were down and decisions needed to be made? The stump ached worse than it had in years as the memories began flooding back, mostly in bits and pieces.

What had started off as a romp through the woods eventually turned into a slog. Ruby quietly rested in the little red wagon that her sister had set her in. Home had once felt so close and now it felt like they'd never find their way back. Then...it appeared. A Beowulf lurched from the woods, it's face scarred, likely from a vengeful last reminder of a previous victim. Yang was terrified and it seemed as though there was nothing to be done. But, seeing the danger the two of them were in, Ruby stirred from her post-waking up daze and leaped towards the Grimm, the best weapon she could find in hand: a rather large stick. Her sister called for her to come back but whether it was fear pulsing through her keeping her frozen or determination to see this thing threatening her and someone she loved be stopped.

In the end?

"Leave us alone!" The child cried out as she swung the stick. It broke off into splinters upon the creature's head and it roared and lunged forward.

It didn't matter what Ruby did. Her fear had overwhelmed her....Her screams echoed throughout the woods. After the creature attacked, Ruby could only bare to remember three things. Her uncle coming too late as the beast had already done it's damage, the fact that she didn't scream after the creature was gone, and Yang....

Yang's terrified expression would never leave her mind, no matter how old she'd get from then on.

From then on, things were different, she was different. In her darkest days, Ruby wondered if when Yang jumped when Ruby asked her to: was it out of love or what she'd seen Ruby do that day?

~~~

"You....I don't know who you are...But to try sneaking up on me and wearing that face. You're either the bravest fool I've ever met or the dumbest..." Ruby practically snarled, her shoulders heaving up and down and the hate ebbing off her body? Neo could practically feel it. "But even now, as you stand there, I can see something in your eyes that my actual sister doesn't have..." Ruby pushed up her mask just enough to reveal her face. It was just as youthful as the Ruby that the other Yang chasing the other Neo knew and loved. But her gaze was one of a hardened warrior, one who'd seen much and yet still had enough room for the anger billowing within her, waiting it's turn to blow it's stack.

Her mouth settled in a simple frown but Neo could tell there was more to it than what she simply saw with her eyes. Behind that frown were the fangs of a ravenous creature seeking to sink them into the next person that earned it's ire. For better or for worse, this was most definitely not the same girl who'd helped take Roman from her. This was....something else altogether. Shifting Crescent Rose so it leaned up against her, Ruby continued to speak. "Even now, you continue to stare at me with those eyes, and I can tell you what's in them. It's hatred....You hate me..." The frown slowly shifted into a smile and a giggle escaped past Ruby's lips. "I can't tell you that you're wrong for having that look or guess what reason you have to hate me. Too many people are afraid to say what they feel, especially to me..." Spreading her feet apart and gripping both hands tightly around the handle of her weapon, Ruby's smile felt...strangely genuine. "But I appreciate that you can tell me the truth. So many others can't. I'm here to do something so I can't afford to waste too much time on you so I'll make this as quick and painless as I can.."

Noticing the ire that last comment seemed to stoke in her fake!sister, Ruby let her mask slide down her face, the last thing Yang!Neo seeing was the smile turn into a grin. "Let's go!" Bursting forward in a stream of rose petals, Ruby raised Crescent Rose above her head and swung it downwards, smashing the tile that Yang!Neo had previously been standing upon. With her mask back down, to Neo? It felt like staring into Death's empty eyesockets. Ruby imagined by this point that Blake had arrived and that meant her actual sister had to be hanging around here. Fine. Let them do as they pleased. Ruby would get rid of this one and finish her job.

No problem....

~~~

This day had started off already pretty terrible if you wanted Neo's opinion on it all. From the lack of respect that she felt she was rightly owed to waking up sleeping on the goddamn ground, it felt as if fate itself was playing a sick joke on her. Then when it seemed like she finally had the one person she despised right alongside Cinder right before her, it turned out to be someone else. Strange to think that when by all accounts, they seemed the same: Same weapon, same semblance, same annoying voice. But the look in this 'Red's eyes made the distinction all too clear to Neo. Which meant that this weird day was only going to get even weirder.

Shedding her 'Yang' disguise and appearing before Ruby as she did, Neo performed a curtsy as a mocking sign of 'respect' for Ruby figuring out the hate so evident in her opponent's eyes. Putting aside everything that was weird and wrong about this, Neo couldn't bother bottling up the own contempt within her. Getting revenge on this brat was the whole reason she'd joined up with that no respect showing Cinder in the first place(and also because getting smited by someone with Maiden powers didn't sound too good for your health.) Hopping back as Ruby rushed at her, Neo twirled Hush over her shoulder and decided that this kid-monster or not-had enough forcing her on the defensive. Rushing forward, Ruby coldly stared her down and swung Crescent Rose, only for Neo to jump up and land on the shaft of the blade with a mocking sneer.

"Get. Off. My. WEAPON!!!!" Ruby shrieked and Neo happily obliged with a solid kick to the face that sent Ruby skidding back and a faint crack along the underside of her mask. Landing on her feet with a skip and a hop, Neo twirled her parasol once more and tried to think over the positives that were before her. She was starting to take back control in this fight and you know what? Even if this wasn't the 'Red' who'd wronged her, so what? If she offed this one then when she encountered the 'real' one, she'd have the experience of taking her out already under her belt! But as the two noticed Grimm attracted by the negative emotions they were giving off, they silently exchanged glances with eachother before Ruby spoke.

"Let's clear the herd a bit...and then I'll clear myself of you..."

"*giggle*"

~~~
​

"No."

"Eh, your loss. "Lil Red" sounds a lot catchier than...uh, Ruby..."
​

"Of course we are, you moron!" Cinder growled, still pissed from that sucker punch. "And we're kind of under attack, so if you can quit being a pest and let us do our duty, that would be greeeeeeeeeeeeat." Ruby sighed at that, but it was a valid point. There were Grimm that needed slaying, and a lot more problems to deal with, if she really was reliving the Fall of Beacon all over again...or someone's twisted and backwards version of it anyway. "I can help."

"Well, that's uh, just swell Ruby! Glad to have the help, really, we are! But and this isn't directed at you..." Roman assured before shrugging his shoulders. "Ah, who the hell am I kidding, of course it is. Can we all just follow Watt's lead for once and take our new friend and get out of here ?!" Roman knew Neo could fend for herself. Why, she was probably having a field day mowing down the Grimm...and probably worrying herself sick about him. Ugh, that didn't leave a good feeling in his stomach no, sir. "Hey, Ruby, you wouldn't have happened to have seen a girl, about ye high, shorter than you? Pink and brown hair? Has kind of a smug air around her??"​

 

[Gus Gungus]

-and skidded to a halt, a look of horror blanching across her features. That man was dead. There... there was so much blood. It oozed across the tiles inexorably outwards in every direction from the two halves, and striding right through the middle of it was a woman in a grimm mask. She stepped back, raising her parasol defensively without thinking about it. This was bad. The reality of the situation was eclipsing the absurdity of some blonde spectre of revenge chasing her for some unknown slight, the sight of a corpse somehow making the screams and battlecries from outside and within the building thud against her ears like wardrums now where'd they'd been a distraction moments earlier as she continued to backpedal-

bump.

Before she could even turn, a hand grabbed the front of her uniform and jerked her off the ground, lifting her up as she flailed in a panic. "Finally got.... you?"

...

If Neo was having a surreal day, Yang was completely disassociating from reality. She held Neo up with one hand, the other primed for a punch, frozen in place as she stared at Eve and the remains of her handiwork. She decided that she had to be dreaming even if she could feel pain, because only in some food poisoning or brain damage induced nightmare could she not only be in a hallway with the two individuals she absolutely hated on a personal level the most, and for it to be... weird instead of just a regular sort of bad. Why... why was he a she??? Was her brain trying to give her two very different kinds of dreams and just really, really messing up at achieving the goals of either? Why'd he kill some dude in a weird White Fang alternate uniform? Wait, wait. Wasn't that the guy Weiss nagged them all for weeks about how 'she certainly had him' and 'he only got lucky'? Why was he in her 'everyone I hate being at the worst point in my life' dream? Like, sure, she loved Weiss and all, but if her brain was working off any sort of list then that shoulda been like, Tyri-

Her dream was apparently done with letting her thoughts go on this tangent, because Neo's umbrella absolutely brained her upside the head, and she yelped in surprise as she let the slippery monster go. She rubbed the side of her chin as Neo rolled to the side and came up with parasol held aloft and a weirdly terrified look that didn't suit Yang's mental image of her at all. Seriously, that hurt. There's no way this was a dream. So what was it? Someone's semblance? Maybe she was dreaming, but it could actually hurt her if she wasn't careful?

Yea. She'd go with that. Dream based semblance from some Salem assassin or whatever. It was about as close to 'logical' as her brain could get here. She flexed her hands and clenched her fists, before she swung them twice into the air, the sound of ember celica chambering rounds filling the brief silence. "Ok, sure, why not. I'll take you both on! Who's first?!

Eve's hand was at Wilt's scabbard like a bolt of lightning when Neo came barreling around the corner, stopping her in her tracks as she dropped low and dug in a stance, the blood pool lapping at her heels. Her instincts were screaming at her: you're in danger. The human wants to hurt you. Kill it before it gets the chance.

A year ago she wasn't so sure she would've been able to suppress them.

It was the look of sheer terror in Neo's eyes that allowed for reality to overcome the one inside her head, in the end. She put a hand up in what was intended as a placating gesture, but it became lost in the chaos of subsequent events as Eve watched what she assumed to be two students settling some kind of score in the middle of all the anarchy with rapidly dwindling patience.

And they were the animals. Right.

"What?" She demanded in a harsh, bitter tone when the blonde tried to rope her into whatever was happening, the exact same type of scornful and domineering voice the Taurus Yang knew used when he was alive—if a few octaves higher. The more she looked at her, the more similarities presented themselves; stance, build, the way she moved, the way her hand rested idly on her blade's hilt as a constant implied threat. Her tangle of strikingly red hair, while much longer, reflected the wildness of her counterpart's own locks, and the calm, unperturbed pace carrying her forward mirrored Adam's total control of the situation the first time Yang experienced this night as she flicked Wilt with her thumb to reveal just an inch of red.

"Move."

It wasn't a request, and she didn't stop walking. She didn't have time for this.​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"What?" She demanded in a harsh, bitter tone when the blonde tried to rope her into whatever was happening, the exact same type of scornful and domineering voice the Taurus Yang knew used when he was alive—if a few octaves higher. The more she looked at her, the more similarities presented themselves; stance, build, the way she moved, the way her hand rested idly on her blade's hilt as a constant implied threat. Her tangle of strikingly red hair, while much longer, reflected the wildness of her counterpart's own locks, and the calm, unperturbed pace carrying her forward mirrored Adam's total control of the situation the first time Yang experienced this night as she flicked Wilt with her thumb to reveal just an inch of red.

"Move."

It wasn't a request, and she didn't stop walking. She didn't have time for this.​

Yang really hated Neopolitan. She had a direct hand in the fall of beacon. She owned the most annoying semblance she'd ever come across, and one of their classmates at Beacon could perfectly mimic a vuvuzela. There was a really good chance her BS had been part of the scheme to make her look like someone who broke innocent real boy legs instead of nasty crime boy robot legs. And she'd... well... kinda kicked her ass. Demolished her. Put her down in minute flat, no contest, in a way Yang hadn't ever really lost a fight before. no matter how much she'd grown since then, it was still some kind of stain on her pride that she'd let some evil, cocky, 4'10" ballerina put her on her backside. It was a scorecard she wanted to even out so bad.

...But all of that paled in comparison to what Adam had done to her, to Blake. Neo gave her a headaches with an undercurrent of blinding rage when she saw some tri colored ice cream in the store. Adam left her maimed and nightmare ridden for months, made Blake abandon her, hounded them all the way to the Atlas border, all culminating in forcing Yang to cross a line she'd never been comfortable with the thought of crossing, and ripping fresh scars open for Blake. If this was a dream, maybe thats why this Neo seemed like she was kind of a dweeb who hadn't even once shot her a look that said 'you'll make a cute corpse'. Maybe it was her brain telling her that she wasn't the real danger here. Yang glanced over her shoulder at Neo, watching her shift backwards away from the pair of lunatics, before one of her fists suddenly extended at her. A shot cracked out, deflected by a swing of Neo's parasol, and the young huntress in training bolted.

"...Nah. Not this time, Taurus." She said, turning to face Eve fully as she bounced slightly her feet and took a deep breath. Calm. She needed to stay calm This was a dream. Same as always, except for the ways her brain was trying to make it really, really weird. But she was over this. She'd worked through this, and hell, she had bigger problems now than Blake's stalker ex still haunting her subconscious. "Ice Scream back there was giving me the cold shoulder, but someone's gonna tell me whats wrong with this dream, and if I gotta beat it out of somebody then hey-" She tried to smirk, but there wasn't any joy in it. "Might as well be the butt I already kicked once."

 

[Gus Gungus]

"...Nah. Not this time, Taurus." She said, turning to face Eve fully as she bounced slightly her feet and took a deep breath. Calm. She needed to stay calm This was a dream. Same as always, except for the ways her brain was trying to make it really, really weird. But she was over this. She'd worked through this, and hell, she had bigger problems now than Blake's stalker ex still haunting her subconscious. "Ice Scream back there was giving me the cold shoulder, but someone's gonna tell me whats wrong with this dream, and if I gotta beat it out of somebody then hey-" She tried to smirk, but there wasn't any joy in it. "Might as well be the butt I already kicked once."

You're in danger.

The human wants to hurt you.

Kill it before it gets the chance.

The voice screaming in her head was more than just instinct this time. Eve stopped in her tracks the moment she realised this... insane person really wasn't moving, but it was less the defiance that played on Eve's psyche and more Yang's insinuations. Someone she had zero recollection of claiming to know her, to have beaten her? A human? Her mind was racing through possibilities, memory after memory of her time with the White Fang, of a time before she wore the mask...

She couldn't place her.

Who was she?

Who WAS she?!

She clenched her hand tight around Wilt to steady the building shake in her hand, dark thoughts and memories bubbling to the surface. Planting her feet, the faunus curled her lips into a snarl and shifted her weight low. Waiting. If the blonde wanted this, she could come to her.

"Are you stupid?! I'm giving you the chance to get out of my way before I hurt you. Pull my name off some news report and pretend we're acquainted all you want, I didn't come here for you." She growled, a low, warning edge of hostility creeping into her voice.

"But that doesn't mean I won't make time if you push me. I can tell you like to talk. Back off now or you don't talk without a machine's help, ever again."​

 

[MyrtenRose]

That was a lot of information to process all at once and basically none of it made any sense to him. His eyes went through a bunch of different emotions we're not gonna get into as they flicked from Salem, to Goodwitch, and then to his own sister, and he wrenched his scythe away from the telekinetic hold and let it backspin twice into a ready stance, still not convinced he wasn't gonna have to fight his way out of this.

"That's rich, asking me for an explanation when nothing in this room seems to make any kind of rational sense. See, if you were anything like the Salem I know I'm willing to bet I would've died painfully pulling that little stunt. Glynda Goodwitch would only act to protect professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy. And my sister, who's being her most charming self right now by declining to speak, leads that pack of degenerates we grew up in out in the wilds. And this..."

His eyes widened a little as he peered past her, gazing out over the destruction with a haunted look.

"...This is the Fall of Beacon... But you were behind this." His expression hardened again as he switched his gaze back to Salem, obviously distrustful. "Glynda, you and I fought through the streets that entire night. And you, Raven, you did what you always did: you stayed out of it."

He fell silent for a moment, trying to make heads or tails of it all. He wasn't having much luck. Typical.

"...If I got captured... just kill me. All you're gonna pull outta my brain are regrets."​

That reply had all 3 women exchange glances. A different Salem, apparently eager for blood? Ozpin, the headmaster? Raven, the bandit leader? The whole idea seemed laughable but...Salem doubted even the most blindingly drunk Qrow would be making bad jokes or spreading lies at a time like this. She hoped so anyway. Not that the headmistress had time to dwell on it, her eyes widening in alarm as Qrow seemed to recognize what was going on with a swift look. "The fall of...?" She repeated, turning back to looking out the window at the chaos below. It did look bad, but to have it talked about as a battle they were going to lose...most worrisome.

Her eyes remained on the madness outside even as she spoke. "Qrow. I don't know what you think you've seen, but I can assure you this. I am not behind the insanity down below. I--"

"Don't tell me you're actually buying this bullshit!" Raven finally deigned to speak, an angry look on her face. "Qrow must have lost his mind. Insulting me right to my face by daring to insinuate I lead that gang of criminal rabble. He was the one who succumbed to the bitterness and turned his back on all of us. He--"

"That's enough, Raven." Salem stated firmly, turning back around to face all of them. Qrow in particular got a long look, as if Salem was staring into his very soul. "...I don't think this is the Qrow we know. Disregard how you think what he's saying sounds insane. How would you explain how he got in here? He did not get past you two, and even a little bird would have to make a hole somewhere to get past the windows. There are none that I see."

Raven fell silent, the logic getting to her despite her anger.

"What's more..." Salem stepped over closer to the huntsman despite him still having his weapon in a ready stance. The headmistress leaned over slightly and sniffed. "I don't smell alcohol on him. If nothing else, that is a big difference from the Qrow we know." She noted with a slight smile. "Now, Qrow. I don't know what you're expecting here, but if someone captured you, it wasn't our doing. You are the one who surprised us." Salem stepped back and turned to the other two.

"Go. You have a duty down there." She nodded over in the direction of everything outside. Glynda nodded and was quick to depart once again. Raven lingered longer, distrusting eyes remaining locked on her brother before she huffed and relented, following after Goodwitch. But not before giving Salem a look that promised if anything went wrong, she would return and do whatever was necessary. With them both gone, Salem exhaled. "Okay, Qrow. You said this was the Fall of Beacon. You clearly have no idea how you got here. There is certainly a mystery to unravel. Tell me everything. What happens here? What is the last thing you remember before you were here?"

 

[MyrtenRose]

"I'm quite certain we would have noticed were you one of our classmates." Arthur snapped, tapping his foot impatiently. "No, you were in the systems as a student from Haven academy. If it weren't for how confused you seemed, I'd mark your suspicious behavior right now as deeply concerning given the mess we're on, but as is I'm just going to recommend you get checked for a concussion when our school is no longer being beset by grimm and who knows what else now can we please get a move on people?" He asked, exasperated.

"...though, for accuracy's sake, we're only students, not real hunstmen." He added with a sniff.

"...………………………………………………………………………………………………………" Man, this really was all kinds of strange craziness. Cinder, Tyrian, Hazel, Roman, Mercury, Emerald...all of them were really, genuinely Beacon students??? And she was in the system as being from Haven? "Oh my god is this topsy-turvyness, is this how it feels to be drunk?" Questions that would have to be answered for later.

"Hey, Ruby, you wouldn't have happened to have seen a girl, about ye high, shorter than you? Pink and brown hair? Has kind of a smug air around her??"

Neo too??? Ugh this was way too much to handle right now, though Ruby politely gave a shake of the head in answer. "C'mon, this way is quickest to the airships!" Ruby was quick to lead the way. If this had anything in common with what she remembered, General Ironwood should be directing civilians as orderly as possible and ensuring their safety just outside the arena. When she and the other huntsmen and huntresses exited the arena, it was confirmed. There he was. But this time there was no need to approach him and ask what to do. She knew what needed to be done. "Over there!" Ruby ordered like she was born to do, leading them all over to an empty airship for them to commandeer and take down to Beacon.

Even Cinder, still pretty annoyed by that punch, was putting it aside and following this weird girl's lead. So many people were likely feeling helpless, and she wasn't just going to let that stand. Not while she could do something about it.

When they landed, Ruby was quick to speed off into the thick of it in a burst of rose petals. She had a rough idea of what to do, from...experience. That and despite that they seemed to actually be real huntsmen and huntresses, she was still wary to truly trust any of them. Better to go it solo.

Cinder did likewise run into the fray, albeit in the opposite direction of Ruby and trusting the rest of team WTCH to do the same. Dust arrows were quick to find themselves buried up to the shaft in numerous Grimm, many more falling to the swift flurries of her slicing out with her twin blades. A particularly big Beowulf roared in challenge and began to charge straight for her. She smirked, reconnecting her blades into bow form with a satisfying click, notching an arrow as she prepared to-

*BOOM*

Get sent flying off her feet by a hammer hitting her out of nowhere, apparently. Cinder hit the ground with a pained grunt, her body skidding along it for a further 20-ish feet before she slid to a halt, her bow clattering along the ground as it slipped from her grasp. The fall maiden was quick to jump back to her feet, eyes looking around for the truck that had just hit her. Golden eyes settled on a tiny girl, swinging around a hammer that was bigger than she was by far. Currently that hammer was crushing the Beowulf like it was nothing.

Seeking to take advantage of that distraction, Cinder ran for her bow, picking it up and loosing three arrows in one fluid motion, right at that girl. All of them were blocked handily, crushed to pieces by swings of that absurd weapon. With the Beowulf fading away, the girl turned towards Cinder with a crazy wide smile on her face.

"What is your deal?!"

"You are!" Not one to waste time with more words, Nora dashed forward, leaping left and right to avoid arrows as she went and her hammer priming for a strike to send the archer up into the sky.

 

[Gus Gungus]

"Don't tell me you're actually buying this bullshit!" Raven finally deigned to speak, an angry look on her face. "Qrow must have lost his mind. Insulting me right to my face by daring to insinuate I lead that gang of criminal rabble. He was the one who succumbed to the bitterness and turned his back on all of us. He--"

"Well don't get all pouty about it, I insult you to your face all the time. Might wanna check in on your daughter tonight. She loses an arm, if you care." He threw at her back casually as she left, otherwise giving Salem the floor. As wrong as that sounded in his head.

"That's enough, Raven." Salem stated firmly, turning back around to face all of them. Qrow in particular got a long look, as if Salem was staring into his very soul. "...I don't think this is the Qrow we know. Disregard how you think what he's saying sounds insane. How would you explain how he got in here? He did not get past you two, and even a little bird would have to make a hole somewhere to get past the windows. There are none that I see."

Raven fell silent, the logic getting to her despite her anger.

"What's more..." Salem stepped over closer to the huntsman despite him still having his weapon in a ready stance. The headmistress leaned over slightly and sniffed. "I don't smell alcohol on him. If nothing else, that is a big difference from the Qrow we know." She noted with a slight smile. "Now, Qrow. I don't know what you're expecting here, but if someone captured you, it wasn't our doing. You are the one who surprised us." Salem stepped back and turned to the other two.

"Go. You have a duty down there." She nodded over in the direction of everything outside. Glynda nodded and was quick to depart once again. Raven lingered longer, distrusting eyes remaining locked on her brother before she huffed and relented, following after Goodwitch. But not before giving Salem a look that promised if anything went wrong, she would return and do whatever was necessary. With them both gone, Salem exhaled. "Okay, Qrow. You said this was the Fall of Beacon. You clearly have no idea how you got here. There is certainly a mystery to unravel. Tell me everything. What happens here? What is the last thing you remember before you were here?"

Qrow collapsed the scythe, crossed his arms and levelled her with a dissecting stare, lips drawn in a tight frown. This... was all wrong. So, so wrong. Everything she'd been told about this woman, everything she'd seen out there, fighting against her, had led him to believe she was evil incarnate. He still believed that. But here she was, right in front of him, seemingly in Ozpin's shoes and as amicable and wise as he ever seemed.

Then again, that came with its own set of problems.

"...For all I know my brain is being tunnelled into by some new kind of grimm you made to extract info, Salem. It still seems a lot more possible to me than what you're suggesting. I'll lend a hand tonight, but don't ask anything about where I was or what I was doing before this. That said, it was a couple years after tonight. Wasn't doing anything especially out of the ordinary, just talking. Drinking soup." Soup which was now gone forever.

That much laid out, he strained to think.

"Okay... first off, the Atlesian tech got hijacked. They took over the droids and made 'em go haywire instead of defending people, if that hasn't happened already. Second, the Fall Maiden. She's here, isn't she? You know who she is? You need to get to her right now. Bring your best people, cuz you... Ozpin... couldn't stop who they sent for her. Third, a Wyvern showed up. My niece stopped it with her eyes, but not before it took out the CCT for good. You don't wanna know how bad that went. Where is she?"

​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"Well don't get all pouty about it, I insult you to your face all the time. Might wanna check in on your daughter tonight. She loses an arm, if you care." He threw at her back casually as she left, otherwise giving Salem the floor. As wrong as that sounded in his head.

Salem raised an eyebrow at that but otherwise stayed quiet. Whatever passed between them in regards to Raven's daughter was their own business. As far as Salem knew, Raven hadn't seen her daughter in years now. Nobody had. The possibility that she would be here, let alone lose an arm seemed slim, but then again this was turning out to be a remarkably strange night.

Qrow collapsed the scythe, crossed his arms and levelled her with a dissecting stare, lips drawn in a tight frown. This... was all wrong. So, so wrong. Everything she'd been told about this woman, everything she'd seen out there, fighting against her, had led him to believe she was evil incarnate. He still believed that. But here she was, right in front of him, seemingly in Ozpin's shoes and as amicable and wise as he ever seemed.

Then again, that came with its own set of problems.

"...For all I know my brain is being tunnelled into by some new kind of grimm you made to extract info, Salem. It still seems a lot more possible to me than what you're suggesting. I'll lend a hand tonight, but don't ask anything about where I was or what I was doing before this. That said, it was a couple years after tonight. Wasn't doing anything especially out of the ordinary, just talking. Drinking soup." Soup which was now gone forever.

"A Grimm that I made? No...I'm afraid you're quite mistaken. I'm not the one responsible for that darkness. But-" She stepped around her table, dropping into her chair and interlacing her hands. "-there is no time to waste with discussing it at length. Not tonight. So very well, no need to reveal everything about where you were or what you were up to. Your help is needed more than that information is. If you are from the future as you claim." It sounded unlikely at best but doubt was not a luxury they could afford at this time.

"Okay... first off, the Atlesian tech got hijacked. They took over the droids and made 'em go haywire instead of defending people, if that hasn't happened already. Second, the Fall Maiden. She's here, isn't she? You know who she is? You need to get to her right now. Bring your best people, cuz you... Ozpin... couldn't stop who they sent for her. Third, a Wyvern showed up. My niece stopped it with her eyes, but not before it took out the CCT for good. You don't wanna know how bad that went. Where is she?"

Her hands pulled away from each other after that knowledge was revealed, moving across her desk to bring up screens of various points in the city and around Beacon itself. Many had the droids on them, but it was as Qrow described. Their faceplates were glowing red and they were not targeting Grimm as they should have been. Instead, in many cases they were going after civilians trying desperately to flee or taking shots at the huntsmen and huntresses trying to protect the people. That was good and bad at the same time. Bad for happening in the first place, but it did give some credence to the idea that this Qrow was from the future. How else would he have known that would happen? The only other possibility she could think of was one she didn't want to entertain. No, he had to be from the future. Or at least, one future? A different one, perhaps? That would explain his attitude to her. No matter. "It seems you are correct. That changes things. As for your other questions, in light of your accurate prediction...you may not trust me, Qrow, but I am choosing to trust you, despite Raven's animosity towards you and despite the you that I know having thoroughly proven himself to be untrustworthy."

Her hands moved again, bringing up new screens. "Yes, the Fall Maiden is here. The young Cinder Fall, a first-year student here. She received the power at random, and we've only just started teaching her on that power in secret." Her hand swept across her desk repeatedly, making the displayed screen switch from camera feed to camera feed until she reached the one she was looking for. It revealed Cinder to be in fierce combat with hordes of Grimm alongside the rest of her team. Her right hand began to slide across the table more. The headmistress rapidly went through various other feeds, and confusion flashed across her face before she lifted her head to look at Qrow. She tapped on her desk and two screens popped up, revealing two very different situations.

One displayed Ruby Rose carving through plenty of Grimm, scythe slicing apart many lesser ones with impressive skill.

The other showed a masked Ruby Rose using her scythe in much the same way...but with more lethal intent, and directed at...one of her students?

"Qrow. What is this?!"