Fandom Distorted Mirror [IC]

[MyrtenRose]

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"Oh, you mean the extremely memorable highlight of my day. Of course."​

"Y-yeah? Sure, I mean, if that's what it is...I'll just, y'know..." She thumbed over at the door. "...see myself out...again. Good luck with all this." Cinder quickly fell silent after that as she went for the door. The easy part was done, at least. The hardest part was yet to come, but for now...there was the part of medium difficulty. She was too young to be licensed, and more damning, she'd...never actually driven before.

How to get back to Mantle...and subsequently Atlas...?​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"Y-yeah? Sure, I mean, if that's what it is...I'll just, y'know..." She thumbed over at the door. "...see myself out...again. Good luck with all this." Cinder quickly fell silent after that as she went for the door. The easy part was done, at least. The hardest part was yet to come, but for now...there was the part of medium difficulty. She was too young to be licensed, and more damning, she'd...never actually driven before.

How to get back to Mantle...and subsequently Atlas...?

"Also, bring your two friends as escorts."

Mental note: the fall maiden does not comprehend sarcasm.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

Mercury came to a halt in front of her, sized her up under the hood, and...

"No homeless. Out."

Apparently just completely, entirely, did not even recognize her one little bit.

Apparently. The tone he told her to leave with was not one that invited argument, though, and how much of that was simple dedication to his new job was uncertain. Though it had to seem pretty blasé in light of the way their last encounter went, in the event he hadn't somehow completely forgotten her face over the last few months.

As a point of interest, Emerald's eye was sharply keeping track of the situation from behind the bar, and if Neo happened to chance a glance over at any point then it was a totally different face she saw under that hood. This one.

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"I'm not homeless." Though her current living situation wasn't all that much better, honestly. Crappy motel was crappy. Yet that wasn't really the biggest issue here. Either the kid really didn't remember her, which...admittedly would probably be some relief, or her more messy hair and the hood really did wonders. There was only one way to be sure, though, and whatever happened after that...well, she wouldn't mind it as much as she would have in the past. Vernal swept the hood back and took the long jacket it was attached to off as well, idly tossing it into one of the bags on the ground. Now she stood there in all her sleeveless glory, the rather clean vest and tank-top combo she wore revealed the tattoo of a phoenix rising out of flowers on one arm and a really deep scar running nearly the whole length of her other arm.

"See? Not homeless. Not with clothes this clean." She replied, though that wasn't really the biggest thing on her mind as she looked at Mercury almost expectantly.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"Also, bring your two friends as escorts."

Mental note: the fall maiden does not comprehend sarcasm.​

She halted before she reached the door. "...Which two? I...have a few friends here..."​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"I'm not homeless." Though her current living situation wasn't all that much better, honestly. Crappy motel was crappy. Yet that wasn't really the biggest issue here. Either the kid really didn't remember her, which...admittedly would probably be some relief, or her more messy hair and the hood really did wonders. There was only one way to be sure, though, and whatever happened after that...well, she wouldn't mind it as much as she would have in the past. Vernal swept the hood back and took the long jacket it was attached to off as well, idly tossing it into one of the bags on the ground. Now she stood there in all her sleeveless glory, the rather clean vest and tank-top combo she wore revealed the tattoo of a phoenix rising out of flowers on one arm and a really deep scar running nearly the whole length of her other arm.

"See? Not homeless. Not with clothes this clean." She replied, though that wasn't really the biggest thing on her mind as she looked at Mercury almost expectantly.

But to Neo, she was still the shopkeeper.

"Sure, whatever. Still gotta leave."

He firmly took her arm and started leading her over to the door, fully intent on shoving her out. Her things were tossed out after her barely a second later.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

But to Neo, she was still the shopkeeper.

"Sure, whatever. Still gotta leave."

He firmly took her arm and started leading her over to the door, fully intent on shoving her out. Her things were tossed out after her barely a second later.​

...Huh. Not quite what she had expected. If he didn't seem to care, then...

The second he grabbed her arm, her other arm grabbed at his and pushed back, refusing to get thrown out by some kid like that. She did her best to go in the opposite direction, further into the place, or at least to stay rooted to the spot. "Not so fast. I'm not leaving until I get what I came here for. The hell are you even doin' here? Where the hell's Miss M? Didn't expect she'd hire on some huntsman. Tends to be more costly than someone...lesser. Even if it is a huntsman with training wheels."​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"I'm not interested in debating the ethicality of murder with a teenager. You may be surprised to learn you're not the only one who cares for Weiss's wellbeing, and bringing about the premeditated, calculated end of a person's life through whatever means before she even turned of age was in absolutely no way a healthy or positive experience for her. Just look at what it led to. Should you ever find yourself complicit in the killing of another human being, miss Xiao Long, I hope for your sake you treat it with the gravity and seriousness it warrants."

That was none of her business. After she had drunk enough, she lowered the cup again. Ironically it might have been the less overly friendly Raven who was more open to the possibility of Weiss ultimately eventually becoming better than she was now. "I...know that if anybody is to end up a better person than they were, or...try to be..." Raven's expression reflected that she wasn't talking just about Weiss here. "...they have to desire it themselves. Sometimes they have to be forced to realize it. So, Yang, having spent the most time with Weiss...can you say that's what this Weiss wants? She desires to improve in that way, personally? Not talking about what she wants for Atlas, but for herself. Or, if she doesn't right now, do you truly believe you could convince her of that?"

"...But you're absolutely right. Plenty of us here have done what we've thought to be necessary. I certainly have. I'd be extremely surprised if I never do again. It's simply Weiss's trustworthiness that concerns me when it comes to discussions of an alliance, that's all; that depending on her judgment she could very easily come to view us as obstacles to the world she wants to see realized, no less necessary of removal than Jacques Schnee was. And the fact that you seem almost overly protective of her clouding what are otherwise some very insightful opinions. You'll understand if I'm a bit cautious about such lines of thinking; they're what kept me from realizing she was a threat until too late."

She rolled her eyes as for what felt like the tenth time in a week someone said she wasn't old enough to talk with the adults about the serious issues. It wasn't like she'd been forced to grow up far, far faster than most anyone else her age had. Nothing like multiple life altering tragedies that she had to pick up the pieces for herself and others to force some emotional puberty to hit early. Before any frustrated snark could slip out though her dull frown took on an uncomfortable edge as Ironwood that last admonishment at her, and she broke gazes first as she turned to the side as Raven replied, waiting for her to finish before she spoke.

She kind of wished she didn't, because there was some frustrating twists her brain was trying to pull on the morals of her dealings with two different maidens that had Yang feeling the sting of hypocrisy needling her brain more than anything she'd vaguely implied to Winter. Her lack of eye contact with anyone in particular continued as she spoke, sounding far more tired than frustrated now.

"...Never meant to imply it was any kind of good thing for her, sir. But that's kind of my point; Its true that someone has to want to be a better person to be so, but its also not something that's ever going to happen if they don't get the chance to, when our only other option outside of giving Weiss that chance is to try to fight the winter maiden, Atlas military, and Oz all at the same time."

He gave a grave, reaffirming nod to Yang's words, shifting slightly in his chair as his gaze drifted over toward the window and he pondered on how to proceed.

"It was brought to my attention some time ago that Willow Schnee had taken the youngest, Whitley, and left Solitas. I believe the word was they headed for Vacuo, about the only kingdom left that hasn't been destabilized in recent months. From what Winter informed me, she had disowned Weiss, the fortune, the Schnee name, all of it. By all accounts, their intent was to start a new life. Seems like something that could've been a very brave decision if she had made it a long time ago, but I digress. I wondered at the time how she had managed to procure the funds to do so, since I don't imagine sneaking that out under her daughter's nose would've been easy."

His tone was almost too neutral in his next words, like he had a very strong opinion of what he was about to relate that he had to force into a professional casing of iron to keep his composure.

He barely succeeded.

"...Some recent details have emerged that have shed some light on that. Apparently... Willow had cameras installed throughout the Schnee Manor a short time after Whitley was born. Cameras only she knew about, which captured... a great many things. Things that might have made a lot of things turn out very differently, if she had ever found the courage to make that footage public. If she hadn't been so afraid of the scandal."

He tried to find it in himself to afford some sympathy for the woman, but he couldn't. His scoff was bitter. When he spoke again, however, he had managed to force a more professional quality back to his tone out of sheer will.

"...But it appears the one she finally found the strength to use those cameras against was the same daughter who probably needed it the most. Supposedly, she has footage that incriminates Weiss of her dealings; footage she sold off into the underworld for an exorbitant sum of money, enough that she and Whitley can live several comfortable lifetimes over. Hnh. I always knew that woman was shrewder than she let on..."

He shook his head, making the effort once again not to let his disgust rule his words. Putting his own personal feelings on the particulars aside, when he spoke again there was a graver edge to the words.


"Weiss's tenure as councilwoman has not been kind to the organized criminal element, and with more or less complete executive control over the military her ruthless efficiency towards them has tripled of late. There's always been a steady criminal element inside the Donut, but from what I understand Weiss has effectively burned them out root and stem; now she's already turning equally promising reforms toward Mantle. Suffice to say, all sorts of unsavory characters have been ripping each other to pieces trying to get that footage, but the one who's held onto it the longest is an individual known by the name of Jabberwock. No one knows who they really are, or even their gender; only that they're responsible for the Semblance Pits, a series of extremely illegal fighting rings held in elaborately constructed bunkers scattered across the tundra. Whoever they are, they're extremely well-connected and resourceful. During my time as general, we were only ever able to locate three such bunkers, while my intelligence suggests there may be as many as a dozen. And I was making it a priority."

He scowled.

"Yet apparently, Weiss and Carnelian have even found a way to take them to task. They feel threatened, but lack the credibility to do anything with the footage themselves. Esoteric semblances, digital doctoring... what happened at the Vytal Tournament let the world know to be skeptical of even their own eyes, and there are a million ways the councilwoman could spin such a leak to imply conspiracy. It's quite literally what she's been doing for months. The population loves her; they're not going to put any stock in allegations made by some elusive criminal. So Jabberwock's solution, naturally, has been to organize a tournament. I'm not sure if they do it for profit, recruitment, or even just the sport of it all. But they're offering the footage up as grand prize, and they've sent feelers out to the four corners of Remnant to invite any skilled warriors with a vested interest in seeing Weiss's regime fall apart to participate—Or simply anyone who wants to hold something over a Schnee. That does include people who could actually make practical use of the footage, and I can't imagine the councilwoman is feeling great about it."

He stood up and moved over to the window, gazing out across the wastes as snow drifted down.

"It's taken time, but from what I understand it should be ready to commence in a matter of weeks. They are, however, still accepting participants. It's something nobody under my military command could ever have gotten within a million mile radius of, but... well, we're not the military anymore. I was going to propose we simply flood the field with our most capable and see if we could use whatever's on there somehow, but if we truly do decide and alliance with the councilwoman is worth pursuing—which I'm not considering a matter put to rest yet, by the way, since we basically just bickered for a few minutes..." His eyes narrowed, tone musing, and he turned around.

"It could serve as a token of good faith. A good one, at that. But be warned. The fights are unsanctioned. There are very few rules. There's no aura threshold like the Vytal Tournament; the fight stops when it breaks, and that can often lead to life-threatening injuries. And the other combatants aren't going to be your run-of-the-mill criminals or huntsmen—They're likely to be some of the deadliest in all of Remnant. Competing in these freakshows is not something I suggest lightly, and I certainly wouldn't encourage anyone to line up and throw themselves at the idea. Somehow I feel like you're all going to anyway though."

He couldn't help but let an understated ring of sarcasm creep into his voice, despite the mood.

Yang's eyes closed partway through Ironwood's speech, a low, unimpressed growl initially being her only response when she learned of yet another person in the Schnee house who her opinion of wasn't going to be anything impressive. She tried to shake off the melancholic dourness that this whole existence conversation had seeping into her bones as she opened her eyes with a wry grin and shrugged.

"Why do I get the feeling everyone's really expecting me to say yes to this? Hoping even? I mean, I am going to-" she said with a casual quirk of her shoulder "-but I've only been back five minutes and I'm already getting requests to bust out the guns to save the world." Her semi faux confidence shattered with a small laugh as she sat up and stretched her arms out.

"But yea, I'm game. Like you said, this helps us out either way. And hey, it sounds like this time I can't even get disqualified for allegedly busting some dude's leg. I'm gonna be unstoppable. But uh, before that..."

She glanced around the table with a small, somewhat antsy frown as she rubbed her real arm.

"...I am still totally chipped. Whether trusting Weiss is the right move or not, I'd... really like that to not be the case anymore. My uncle said that night you guys showed up that you guys were going to be able to help me with that, is... that still true? Actually-" She said as her gaze turned more concerned when her eyes swept through the room. Everything since she got here had been such a whirlwind of important and emotionally draining conversations that she hadn't even realized till now.


"Where... is my uncle?"

 

[Gus Gungus]

...Huh. Not quite what she had expected. If he didn't seem to care, then...

The second he grabbed her arm, her other arm grabbed at his and pushed back, refusing to get thrown out by some kid like that. She did her best to go in the opposite direction, further into the place, or at least to stay rooted to the spot. "Not so fast. I'm not leaving until I get what I came here for. The hell are you even doin' here? Where the hell's Miss M? Didn't expect she'd hire on some huntsman. Tends to be more costly than someone...lesser. Even if it is a huntsman with training wheels."

Which was when he decided to give Vernal a sobering reminder of exactly how some bandit who'd been drinking herself into blind stupors for the last however long stacked up against the son of a renowned assassin who'd trained every single day of his life to the point that he could beat that man fairly (and kill him), kicked all kinds of ass at a literal academy of ass kicking, and been consistently busting skulls all across a city gripped by intense violence and unrest in the time since they'd last seen one another in skill. He used her own momentum against her, twisting her arm painfully behind her back and using the leverage to start shoving her along towards the door anyway.

"You came here to get kicked out, so I'm giving you what you came for. Miss M doesn't work here anymore."

Unless she managed to find a way out of that, he gave her a rough shove through the bar doors, down the steps and into the dirt. Now that he was outside, he didn't mind giving her his full attention.

"We do. And you're not welcome, so get the FUCK out of here before you get hurt."

With the trash taken out and his point hopefully made, he turned his back and returned inside without another word.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"But yea, I'm game. Like you said, this helps us out either way. And hey, it sounds like this time I can't even get disqualified for allegedly busting some dude's leg. I'm gonna be unstoppable.

"Excuse me?"

They didn't have time to get into all that though, and while James limited his response to Yang's first question to a brief, confirming nod the second had his eyes flicker past her to a select few others in the room.

"I... think that's a matter best explained by your family. I leave it to them. We might as well leave this here for now; Cassidy, you're the only one present who was actually given an invitation to participate. Can you make the necessary arrangements to get our names in the mix?"

"Why a'course I can, pardner! They're hopin' to put this footage in the handsa folk who wanna bring lady Schnee down, and who better than the buncha violent insurrectionists sowin' discord and unrest across both cities?! Thank GOODNESS ah'm sucha feared'n respected figure in the underworld!"

"Great. Penny, please take miss Xiao Long to see your father so he can attend to her request. The rest of you, dismissed."

He stood up sharply himself, gave those gathered an appreciative nod, and left to find Winter.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

Which was when he decided to give Vernal a sobering reminder of exactly how some bandit who'd been drinking herself into blind stupors for the last however long stacked up against the son of a renowned assassin who'd trained every single day of his life to the point that he could beat that man fairly (and kill him), kicked all kinds of ass at a literal academy of ass kicking, and been consistently busting skulls all across a city gripped by intense violence and unrest in the time since they'd last seen one another in skill. He used her own momentum against her, twisting her arm painfully behind her back and using the leverage to start shoving her along towards the door anyway.

"You came here to get kicked out, so I'm giving you what you came here for. Miss M doesn't work here anymore."

Unless she managed to find a way out of that, he gave her a rough shove through the bar doors, down the steps and into the dirt. Now that he was outside, he didn't mind giving her his full attention.

"We do. And you're not welcome, so get the FUCK out of here before you get hurt."

With the trash taken out and his point hopefully made, he turned his back and returned inside without another word.​

"Oh." Despite the pain still shooting through her nerves in her arm, and the humiliating way she had been shoved down like that, by a kid no less...she actually let out a few bitterly amused laughs. "Well, hey, congratulations! Good on you for picking a better career choice! A criminal like me, yeah, that's a wise choice. You're definitely smarter than your black haired friend is! Or I guess I should say, smarter than she was! Good luck with your new life in crime. Here's hoping you live longer than Cinder did!" She shouted after him as he disappeared back inside, finishing with a sardonic wave at the door.

That much said and done, she finally pushed herself off the ground and dusted the dirt off her arms. After that she went to grab all the stuff that had spilled out of her bags and shoved most of it back into those bags in a rather messy, uncaring manner. Save for the stuff she intended to pawn off. "Guess I'll just have to find some other place to do business. Whatever." It wasn't like they were the only game in town, and she could find the right pawn shop herself. Just had to keep looking is all.

And maybe get a drink too. Something that wasn't the expensive wine she'd been gifted.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"Oh." Despite the pain still shooting through her nerves in her arm, and the humiliating way she had been shoved down like that, by a kid no less...she actually let out a few bitterly amused laughs. "Well, hey, congratulations! Good on you for picking a better career choice! A criminal like me, yeah, that's a wise choice. You're definitely smarter than your black haired friend is! Or I guess I should say, smarter than she was! Good luck with your new life in crime. Here's hoping you live longer than Cinder did!" She shouted after him as he disappeared back inside, finishing with a sardonic wave at the door.

"Suck my dick. Nice mullet, by the way."

And then he was gone.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"Suck my dick. Nice mullet, by the way."

And then he was gone.​

"Can't suck what doesn't exist." She shook her head, grabbing hold of said bottle of wine and holding it up, though she didn't actually open it. "Here's to us, hopefully never meeting again!" She said to the closed door before she slipped it back into a bag and started trudging onward along the road, thinking all the while. Maybe Vacuo would be a good place to go after all. Surely I wouldn't run into any of those idiots there, right?
​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"Where... is my uncle?"

"He left. I wouldn't count on him coming back any time soon." The maiden answered bluntly, without any attempt at putting it in...softer or better words. If she was uncomfortable about that truth, given her past in regards to leaving...it didn't show on her face. Ruby was uncomfortably silent after that, looking downwards with a heavy frown, and the other Raven...looked no less sad than the silver eyed girl but also had a degree of frustration as she glared over at her counterpart.​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

If Yang had turned around to look at the mournful and distraught look on Penny's face as she tilted Winter over the edge and made her stormed off, a bit of the guilt that everyone clearly expected her to feel might've actually pierced her big sister judging heart. The android briefly reached out towards her as she left, but it was a hesitant gesture, and before she could find any resolve to act on her empathy the young Cinder had already taken off after her. She lowered her hand with a silent sigh. Perhaps it was for the best. She may have cultivated a fulfilling professional friendship that she was all but certain she was more emotionally invested in than her counterpart with the Winter of her world, but this... wasn't her. Incredibly similar yes, but she was approximately half an inch taller, preferred provolone rather than swiss, and had never shown Penny the small, more personal kindnesses rather than simple straightforward respect that the Winter she knew had.

The addition of the memory files of the other Penny model seemed to give her distress as often as they proved useful.

It was not her place to stiick her nose into this Winter's concerns. She did try her best, but she was still so clumsy with emotional affairs that she feared she would like do more harm than good if she attempted to console her friend. Rather, not her friend but her very professional partner. Which this Winter was not either.

She sighed, and listened to the rest of the general's words with eyes downcast.


... Those words had Penny's hands clasped tight in front of her with a far more nervous frown than before as she waited with bated breath that she didn't actually need to take anyways.

The list of things Penny was afraid of was incredibly small. It wasn't overconfidence; there were few, if any, people in Remnant who were more honest with themselves about their limitations and strengths than Penny was. She could calculate her lift strength and reaction speed to the decimal. There were certainly threats she could categorize as above her, but she did not fear them, merely gave them the appropriate respect and distance. Her few fears were moreso existential than anything physically threatening, and the effect that they had on those fears and assuaging them were why she held Ruby and Cinder ever so dear in her heart; they were far more sure than anyone than perhaps her father that she even had one. More sure than Penny herself at times.

And yet...

...She now had two different memories of the most important event in her life.

The model that she was contained within during the Vytal festival did not feel pain. She had tactile sensors of course, and was aware of things that occured to her body, but actual pain was not something Penny was subjected to. One couldn't really fault Dr. Polendina for that decision; Penny may have been his life's work, designed to model the human form in any number of ways, but she was also his pride and joy, and his dear beloved daughter. Penny's existence, by its very nature and purpose, was going to be a dangerous and violent one. It was only natural to wish for her to be able to face those dangers without being subjected to the pain they would inevitably bring.

But pain was not an evolutionary dead end. It served a purpose. It was a teacher in a way that even the most advanced AI could not truly match. It was a warning system in a way that no simple acknowledgement of events occuring to a person could relate

When she... when her last match at the Vytal festival... happened, she could not even fully grasp what was being done to her. Too many warnings came at the same time, too suddenly. Perhaps it didn't matter at that point if she could feel pain, but that instant, when the wires started pulling against her torso, when the blade first it into her shoulder, she had set her feet, determined to be strong against the danger, rather than flinch away as pain would've forced.

And then there was nothing.

No one else but her killer had been there, and everyone had been there at the same time. She had been alone as the light left her eyes, and everyone had been watching.

It was entirely illogical to be afraid of an arena, particularly when it was not even the same arena where what had happened to her happened. This was an incredibly important task, one that could decide between Weis- Miss Schnee (Yes, that was a good denominator to help her keep the two memories straight) hurting everyone she cared about and either accepting them as allies or stepping out of their way, and Penny, by her own, genuinely objective deductions, was one of the most potent combatants that the resistance had available to them. It made many kinds of sense for her to volunteer or be ordered for this mission, and thus it made absolutely no sense that she both did not want to volunteer and absolutely dreaded that Ironwood was likely going to order her to.

When that wasn't what his words ended up being, her shoulders loosened slightly before she gave a quick salute and even a small smile at the idea of going to visit father. "Yes sir! May we take Ruby with us as well?" she asked, already sidling over to grab Ruby's sleeve and subtly start pulling her towards the door.

She also completely missed the tone of the room after Qrow had been brought up

 

[Gus Gungus]

When that wasn't what his words ended up being, her shoulders loosened slightly before she gave a quick salute and even a small smile at the idea of going to visit father. "Yes sir! May we take Ruby with us as well?" she asked, already sidling over to grab Ruby's sleeve and subtly start pulling her towards the door.

"No."

...



"Just kidding, of course you can."

He was the last person who would've ever undervalued Penny's prowess as a warrior and an asset, of course. He knew full well that, magic aside, she was inarguably the most powerful individual in the room.

But that didn't mean she had nothing to fear from the right semblance, as had been evidenced in front of the entire world so short a time ago. He'd been overconfident in his(?) creation the first time, decided a chance to flaunt Atlas's technological prowess was the right way to handle the key to his entire kingdom's future.

He was not planning on making that same mistake twice.

As it happened, he was also bad at reading tone sometimes.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

When that wasn't what his words ended up being, her shoulders loosened slightly before she gave a quick salute and even a small smile at the idea of going to visit father. "Yes sir! May we take Ruby with us as well?" she asked, already sidling over to grab Ruby's sleeve and subtly start pulling her towards the door.

Ohp, guess I'm part of this now...

Ruby didn't resist much, freely letting Penny pull her away. Not that she would have been able to put up much physical resistance against the robot girl pulling her, short of speeding away.​

 

[Indolent]

Impromptu Flashback

"...Me?"

View attachment 719404

None of Winter's duties appeared to be very pressing at the moment, or she had simply already seen to everything the general assigned her. Whatever the case, she was simply... sitting against a wall when Fiona came across her, food tray set to one side and practically untouched. Her thoughts looked to be a thousand miles away from where her body was, and if the expression on her face a split second before she hardened it into her professional mask of courtesy when her solitude was disturbed was anything to judge by not many of them were good ones.

"May I ask why?"

She would've scolded children at the academy not so long ago for the sort of nonsense they were getting up to in there. It really just wasn't her cup of tea, but... everything was so different now...​

The delay between her abrupt cessation of what would have trailed off into rambling and formulating a response to Winter wasn't enough time for her to actually do so, a drawn out stammering the opening portion of her response. Fiona demurred in light of that before her shoulders drooped, an apology manifesting in the subtle shifts of her body mannerism that was undercut somewhat by the astray expression that fleetingly hung on her face.

She managed to find the words and lashed them together to pull herself from the dank hole she'd wandered into by accident, electing to look upward instead of digging further.

"Um. I want to say I know that it isn't strictly a military hierarchy the Resistance maintains though we still very much honor a facsimile of it, as we should! The point there being, I realize we're subordinate and superior and so with that in mind, I'll try to tread lightly."

Most likely, she wasn't going to be very successful about it.

"Well, I know there's been more than a major damper on everyone's mood for months, longer for some than others, and I thought maybe it'd help you. Pull you away and forget them even if it's only for a few minutes. I figured you might be averse to the idea but... I guess, in a way, I just wanted you to know you're not alone. And these kids are getting pretty fierce about it!" She offered a minute smile, the genuine kindness wafting off from the expression in spite of how insignificant it may have seemed.

Then an uproarious chant washed in from behind, a name riding the crest of the sound-waves that clearly signaled the end of the contest brief as it was, eliciting a dejected mewl of disappointment from the sheep that might very well have been injurious to those words she'd just said .

"NORA. NORA. NORA. NORA!!!"

Interspersed somewhere in the middle of that was the equally defiant and sorrowful cry of a younger sister lamenting the defeat of her idolized brother, the dramatics of the whole fare played up more than it ought had any right to be.

"...I guess I was too slow?" She chuckled, the awkwardness of the situation slamming her full force before she shook her head, waving it off as she continued to emphasize her ultimate meaning with the former special operative. "I wanted to to let you know if you need someone to talk to, a listening ear, I'm here for that. As a friend or a confidant. You might not need that but... well, no individual is an island and all that."

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

Eyup...this is the place, alright. The former maiden thought as she ran a hand over a particular part of the wall. If the spider emblems that signified lil miss M's preferred base of operations were anything to go by, at least. Vernal still thought a crime syndicate having a signature mark like that was foolhardy, but from what she recalled the lady had been big on style like that. Establish presence, dominance, illustrate how far her reach extended and all that jazz. She could understand it to some degree, but she had always figured it was better to slip under the radar. To not be as noticeable. That was the way the Branwen tribe had worked, anyhow...and perhaps it was because of that, the life she'd be born into, that her semblance had revealed itself to be a way for her to move about unseen by any curious wandering eyes. She pulled her hood a little tighter, closer around her head just as she shot a cautious glance around. But no matter, she had not come to get into a whole thing about how some other group operated. That was their business, not hers.

Her hand lowered back to her side and she strode right in without any further delay. "Heya, Miss M, you around?" She called out as she entered. "Dunno if you'd remember me, been a while. Got a proposition for you."​

"Callie, Callie. Babe."

If the rugged criminal imperviousness to his moves dissuaded Mercury even slightly in any way, it didn't register in his approach. He effortlessly inched forward where he was leaning over the bar and threw out that smooth, reassuring, slightly-red-flaggy-because-obviously-someone's-had-way-too-much-practice-at-this hand, grip steady enough to be assuaging without being unpleasantly firm.

Spoiler

"We couldn't just throw up some eternal pokerface and bluff our way through Mistral's whole ass organized crime scene forever. That's like, a super shaky foundation to run a business like this off. Transfers of power like this one happen in the criminal underworld all the time. It's happening all across the kingdom, right now. Old bosses get bumped off, new ones take over. S'no biggie. Everyone knows the nature of the beast. You just gotta ease into the new way of things, that's all. That's key. Sure, yeah, we kept what happened here on the DL for a little while. Kept the hyenas off our backs and the sharks from smelling blood while we learned the ropes. Now, we're ready. We're good. Time for Miss Malachite's to reopen under new management."

Had their faces always been this close? Just how far was Mercury leaning over the counter right now? These were the questions that she didn't have answers for. Maybe she didn't want them.

"...Riiiiiiiiiiight after you give us one last instructional crash course in how to do... everything. Just to make sure we really got it, y'know? Sh."

He smirked at her as his other hand softly touched two fingers to her lips, muting her in a gentle sort of way almost the moment she started to give a reply.

"Hold onto that thought for me so I can give it the attention it deserves. Looks like some bum just rolled in off the street; probably 'boutta start shaking customers down for spare change. A bouncer's work is never over."

Nor had his literally even begun yet, but whatever. He pushed off the bartop playfully and made his way over to deal with it, strut casual and unconcerned.



Which meant Vernal definitely recognized his face before he did hers, covered up, hooded, and homeless looking as she was, so she had her pick of a chosen response to someone who definitely wasn't going to respond well to seeing her swaggering over like he owned the place.​

Callie's emotional defenses were made of sterner stuff than the average Beacon schoolgirl, hardened by a life of crime, grabby hands, gunfights, and the fact that she was pushing thirty while Merc was still seventeen. But be it the all consuming power of the shoulder touch or the fact that her life had been falling to shambles around her in the last few months and the last day in particular, she was certainly flustered by something as she swatted his fingers off of her and waved him off towards the door.

"F-fine, fine, you're the boss, or... I think you're one of em now" She said with a side eyed, questioning glance towards Emerald. "I'll give you the rundown so the misses don't get stuck with all the work. Now go ahead and shoo off that, oh wait. hold on a moment is that..."

Vernal Zerrin?

She gave a low whistle and sloooowly started to reach for the handcannon at her side. There was a mighty big bounty on that head. Few of em, actually. The City of Mistral herself wanted her captured for the business in Haven, but there were also a pair of more... lucrative, less public issuers who wanted the former spring maiden.

Neo had been watching the whole exchange with a mixture of empathetic pity and open amusement, legs crossed on the stool and chin in hand as she rested her elbow on the bar. It was like watching a cat trying to catch a laser pointer. She didn't feel too bad for the woman, at least at first; She had picked up pretty quick that this was a literal gang or some sort of criminal organization their doubles had dropped into their lap. But while a lot of it was fear, Neo had always been a good people reader, and despite her criminal proclivities miss Callie seemed to have a genuine warm side to her trying to protect her new bosses. She giggled and rolled her eyes as Mercury busted out the dreaded shoulder touch and started to turn back to focus on her breakfast, and then she heard her.

That voice.

Why was she hearing that voice?

She froze in place, the smile instantly leaving her as she stared blankly ahead. Her breaths became slow and shaky as her shoulders quivered. A shivering hand slowly reached to the parasol by her stool, and then the other twisted the handle so that the blade slid ever so slightly from the scabbard as tiny flecks of hardened light started to swirl around her like geometric snow flakes in the wind, tinkling like wind chimes.

Callie noticed, and while if anything it should've been encouraging to see her boss getting the same idea about a bounty as her, the look on Neo's face when she glanced down made the criminal blanch and stop in place, particularly unfond memories of what a happy Neo had done to her old boss and enjoyed. "...Miss... I-I, uh..."

Neo twisted towards the commotion with a violent snarl, pulling Hush's blade even further out of the scabbard and-

She came to an abrupt stop the very second she noticed that face, the bags of stuff she had in hand slipping from her grasp and dropping to the floor. This guy...why is he here? Of all people, and of all places...here?? Now??? The appropriate response would have probably been to run the hell back out but...something inside kept her feet almost glued to the floor, hardly a muscle moving as he approached. Her blue eyes shot around, trying to see if any of his pals were about too.​

Mercury came to a halt in front of her, sized her up under the hood, and...

"No homeless. Out."

Apparently just completely, entirely, did not even recognize her one little bit.

Apparently. The tone he told her to leave with was not one that invited argument, though, and how much of that was simple dedication to his new job was uncertain. Though it had to seem pretty blasé in light of the way their last encounter went, in the event he hadn't somehow completely forgotten her face over the last few months.

As a point of interest, Emerald's eye was sharply keeping track of the situation from behind the bar, and if Neo happened to chance a glance over at any point then it was a totally different face she saw under that hood. This one.

View attachment 720880​

"I'm not homeless." Though her current living situation wasn't all that much better, honestly. Crappy motel was crappy. Yet that wasn't really the biggest issue here. Either the kid really didn't remember her, which...admittedly would probably be some relief, or her more messy hair and the hood really did wonders. There was only one way to be sure, though, and whatever happened after that...well, she wouldn't mind it as much as she would have in the past. Vernal swept the hood back and took the long jacket it was attached to off as well, idly tossing it into one of the bags on the ground. Now she stood there in all her sleeveless glory, the rather clean vest and tank-top combo she wore revealed the tattoo of a phoenix rising out of flowers on one arm and a really deep scar running nearly the whole length of her other arm.

"See? Not homeless. Not with clothes this clean." She replied, though that wasn't really the biggest thing on her mind as she looked at Mercury almost expectantly.​

...Huh. Not quite what she had expected. If he didn't seem to care, then...

The second he grabbed her arm, her other arm grabbed at his and pushed back, refusing to get thrown out by some kid like that. She did her best to go in the opposite direction, further into the place, or at least to stay rooted to the spot. "Not so fast. I'm not leaving until I get what I came here for. The hell are you even doin' here? Where the hell's Miss M? Didn't expect she'd hire on some huntsman. Tends to be more costly than someone...lesser. Even if it is a huntsman with training wheels."​

Which was when he decided to give Vernal a sobering reminder of exactly how some bandit who'd been drinking herself into blind stupors for the last however long stacked up against the son of a renowned assassin who'd trained every single day of his life to the point that he could beat that man fairly (and kill him), kicked all kinds of ass at a literal academy of ass kicking, and been consistently busting skulls all across a city gripped by intense violence and unrest in the time since they'd last seen one another in skill. He used her own momentum against her, twisting her arm painfully behind her back and using the leverage to start shoving her along towards the door anyway.

"You came here to get kicked out, so I'm giving you what you came for. Miss M doesn't work here anymore."

Unless she managed to find a way out​

Oh

When Vernal looked to see if any of the others were in the bar, she did see Neo, who was stuck in place halfway down from stepping off her stool and giving her an absolutely baffled look with Hush half drawn as she saw Mercury forcefully herded a babbling old man out of the bar. That.... she could've swore...

...She thought she was getting better.

Her arms were still shaking as she resheathed Hush and rested it against the bar, but it was something far different from the rancor that had taken her just seconds earlier. She saw Emerald staring at her and knew she'd seen it, and quickly turned her eyes back towards the bar with a guilty, frustrated frown as she rested her forehead on her palm. Even at her worse, she hadn't been hearing things, and any phantoms she saw were ones she forced on herself in some vain attempts to work through any sort of closure with her semblance. Was she actually losing it? Was she actually digging herself out of this horrible pit that her soul was stuck in, or was she just losing her mind? If that was the case then...

Emerald ignored it. "See? You don't wanna end up like that, do you? You have to let it go, sweetheart. Life goes on, Remnant keeps turning, and the more times you have to sever these messy links to the past so it doesn't hurt so much the easier it gets. Pinkie swear."

"I wasn't just talking about them, kiddo."

...

She wanted to apologize, and tell Emerald that wasn't normal, that she wasn't even sure what just happened, assure Mercury and even Miss Jane that she was fine but... instead she just snatched hush back into a vice grip and slipped off towards the back rooms,

 

[Indolent]

"Just think of it as an extension of your duties dear; The safest way to protect me at this meeting is for me to not be there at all" she responded lightly, though her face didn't match her tone as it drifted into a somber frown.

"To do battle from afar... a skill very few have." Even though that was a contrived view on the matter, it still clicked together in his mind's eye. After all, conflict was not a singularly faceted concept, it was so multifarious that it was objectively safe to say new methods, slowly yet surely, were discovered in facilitating these even today. The commonly recognized form of conflict was that of violence, the basest form of it a physical altercation between entities with its greatest incarnation being that of war. Another form that progressively became more prominent in the modern day, if you discounted the inherent quality to the precarious situation between humanity, faunus, and the grimm, was politics. The word was synonymous with manipulation, a conniving and cunning mind requisite to be able to facilitate the simplest of coercing another individual or an institution into furthering your means. At the very least, instigating an exchange and burgeoning a relationship was the start to these things and to do it skillfully...

Stream recognized he hadn't the mind for that, electing for the directness he commonly employed his entirely life as a natural extension of himself. Granted, there were elements where that simply did not hold true, the wolf faunus finding himself in situations where it called for a more creative approach but he always rationalized it stemmed from his instincts.

It was why he never truly had a negative opinion of the Talon Snake, he recognized her value and understood that she benefited him as he did her.

"...Atlas was already enemy territory, but now moreso than ever. A fight on two fronts isn't one the Fang is going to survive if we want to keep a presence here. I have the utmost faith in your abilities Panther, but..." she turned to face him with her hands clasped before her and earnest eyes "....be safe, please. I'd rather lose our place in Atlas than a Talon."

She waved a hand as she looked away, letting a smirk cross her face "If for no other reason than the Hand beheading me should my needlessly overcomplicated scheming get you killed. Unlike the rest of you oafs, I do need my head to do my job."

He affixed Snake in a stare that increasingly grew uncomfortable the longer it persisted, the lingering silence growing in volume. Stream eclipsed it with the purposeful resting of a hand upon her shoulder in an assuring gesture. The inclination stemmed from him considering her concern unnecessary, though he did appreciate it, but decided against openly speaking on it. As it was, with his usual lack of social tact, it came across as that anyhow. Especially with the words he chose to convey his assurance.

"It would be as to strike at the wind."

He let the stare linger for a second before he disconnected his hand, pulling back with his arms drawing up into a cross, the contemplative pose that it was.

"Master impressed on me the import of your survival," He said as a matter of fact, "The Hand did mention to observe the extent of your schemes and to avail myself of them if necessary." A nonchalant cascade of the shoulders flowed in an easy shrug as he elaborated. "It would be boring if I did, though I'm not so foolhardy to go headlong."

Yes, that was a joke. Albeit a bad one.

 

[Indolent]

KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The thunderous sound of a fierce explosion echoed throughout much of the building, enough so that parts of said building even shook a little. Those closer(unluckily?) to one particular lab in that building, they might have been able to make out the sounds of frantic shouting in the wake of whatever had just gone off in there. "Jennings! Unseal the door already!"

"I'm ahead of you there, master He--"

"THEN WHY ISN'T IT OPEN YET?"

"Perhaps, if you relaxed some of the security measures on the door, it could--"

"Not an option! You know well how I hate to be disturbed when I'm in the middle of something!"

"Then I'm afraid you will just have to grow accustomed to the slight delay, master Helios."

"Just...do the thing!" Gwen finished, accompanied by a series of rough sounding coughs. Her arms flailed frantically, trying to clear some of the smoke away from her face.

"Done." He acknowledged, with a trace amount of smug satisfaction. The door slid open, folding into the wall. Immediately a thick cloud of black smoke billowed out through the open lab door and into the hallway itself, giving the special operative inside a little bit more breathing room. "Hey! Don't think t-that I didn't h-hear that in your voice!" Gwen pointed out in an annoyed grumble. "Also, make sure the ventilation system is cranked up to max in here!"

"Already on it..."

"Fan-tastic!"

"...was that a--"

"NOPE." Any further attempts at a conversation between them were readily ignored for the moment, Gwen's mind elsewhere now. She tapped away at a scroll, a red light soon emerging in the corner of the device to signify that the audio recording function still worked properly. "Special Operative GH, audio log number 11-16-2007. SO! Turns out there is such a thing as having too MUCH power applied to a wrist-mounted railgun. Kind of ridiculous if you ask me, you could never have too much power!" Whether she was being serious or not, it was difficult to tell. "In other news, Jennings reported to me earlier that the two trespassers still have not been located, which, admittedly, did dampen my mood some. Either the two are craftier than I gave them credit for, or the AK-200s and Omega Squad are not operating at the level of proficiency I expected. Perhaps both, now that I consider it. Nevertheless, they will not rest until they do find that elusive duo! Special Operative GH, end log." She tapped at the scroll again, ending the recording.

Gwen turned back to her companion. "Jennings?"

"Master Helios?" The modified AK-130 replied back to the absolutely filthy looking Spec-Ops soldier, her pale skin marred with splotches of black all over the place.

"Is there a break in my schedule for a shower?"

The robot brought that up in a holographic display, rapidly looking through. "...If you rush one, perhaps."

"Hngh...right."​

That was when her superior officer, Colonel Llewellyn Ector, called then and now, to politely request a debriefing of sorts on the 'ongoing' operation within Mantle.

It looked like there wasn't gonna be a shower. : |

 

[MyrtenRose]

That was when her superior officer, Colonel Llewellyn Ector, called then and now, to politely request a debriefing of sorts on the 'ongoing' operation within Mantle.

It looked like there wasn't gonna be a shower. : |

She didn’t answer

Yet before she could move to answer as duty demanded— “Hello, you’ve reached the lab of Special Operative Gwen Helios. Master Helios is not here at present to answer. May I take a message?”

“...”

: )

... : )

She hurried to go take that shower.​

 

[Indolent]

"Liza, please clear my schedule. I fully am intent on one thing today and that is to trash a subordinate's toy project."

 

[Gus Gungus]

"Liza, please clear my schedule. I fully am intent on one thing today and that is to trash a subordinate's toy project."

​

 

[Indolent]

"Also, bring your two friends as escorts."

Mental note: the fall maiden does not comprehend sarcasm.​

Cinder might have had to wait a day or two as Hazel was fast asleep in something of a food coma, his protruding prodigious gut barely having diminished in size since the contest.

Soon as they had departed the room, Gretchen was the first to open her mouth. "Watts, right?" She inquired, a knowing confirmation subsequently returned by Hazel as he glanced towards Cinder.

"We probably could borrow the van Penny and Fiona brought us here temporarily. But I need to remind you, we can't loiter in Atlas for too long. Well, it is Watts so maybe we could but..." He frowned, the natural transition of that silence very clearly hitched on the situation revolving around the former team leader and his members. Hazel shook it off, a somber air to him that slowly dissipated as he edged towards a happier tone.

"It will be nice to see him again."

Nicer yet if the fourth and final member-- former even so-- were here.

"Man, I know you guys consider him your friend, he was your team leader and all, but I'm calling it now. He's gonna be real moody, imperious and all about it, when we knock on his door, and probably will throw a very, very sarcastic I don't like to say this but I told you so your way. Actually, he loves saying that doesn't he. Or maybe he'll surprise us and be happy to see us, who knows, hehe." Her tune had changed when her brother had leveled a sudden and stern glare her way in the midst of her words.

The entire exchange that had transpired with Ironwood presiding over it all gave the twins plenty to ruminate on. For one, it illustrated just how severe the situation really was following learning the circumstances that had transpired here within Atlas. With the attack on the councilwoman by the resistance, the situations the Remnant One Yang Xiao Long had undergone-- what little she cared to disseminate beyond vague mentions thereof, the political situation as orchestrated by the aforementioned councilwoman, the heightened tensions between the resistance and the military despite the looming threat that was Ozpin and the multifaceted implications that stemmed from that however way it went, the appearance of evidence to much of the insidious machinations of the councilwoman within the comforts of her home that was sold to the underworld with the apparent emergence of a fighting tournament with itas the grand prize, and so on and forth.

The first thing that materialized in their heads was just how in over their heads they were. They already had that sense knocked into them when they managed to rescue Cinder from the Shadow Fang at Argus but being abreast of the problems afoot within Solitas made for a whole order of magnitude separate from that in all respects. It was nearing closer and closer to a Sisyphean task, or a conglomeration of tasks, verging from practically impossible to that.

Ultimately, what all that entailed was that they needed time to digest all of that. There was no reason they couldn't do so concurrently with a visit to Watts.

 

[MidwayLives]

hile every single person competing will. A majority of them will also most likely consider themselves killers. Your semblance is impressive, but understand I'm not trying to insult you when I say you may simply be outclassed."

"I've given it all the thought I can afford."

Grey rose from his seat and turned to meet James's gaze. While still keeping his mask on of course.

"I know what I said. Fighting has never been my skill of expertise and I doubt that'll change. But if others are so willing to put their wellbeing on the line-"
​

"Underground fighting tournament to get this precious footage...why am I not surprised it isn't something simpler?" Robyn shook her head, a somewhat bitter yet amused laugh escaping her lips at the notion of that. She couldn't say she much liked the idea of fighting at some criminal's behest, whether that was for some kind of gain, recruiting or just plain amusement. But even so, if it was necessary to get what they needed, then... "Count me in too. If this is the approach we're actually going with, I'll participate."

"Same here." The huntress Raven chimed in.

"From huntresses who call this world home..."
​

"As will I." Nora added

"....To those who fight not for their home but because they believe it's what's right."

Grey shrugged his shoulders.

"My place is in the shadows, thinking, plotting about how best to handle any particular situation and yet..."

He shook his head from side to side.

"I can't in good faith stand on the sidelines while others risk themselves for a cause we all believe in. I'm no soldier, or huntsman, or even a general."

'Smiled. Wish he could have seen it.'

"But I'll do my part all the same."
​

Ohp, guess I'm part of this now...

Ruby didn't resist much, freely letting Penny pull her away. Not that she would have been able to put up much physical resistance against the robot girl pulling her, short of speeding away.

"...Hm."

'Really should pay more attention to my surroundings. Everyone's mostly left....'

He was still proud of and stood behind what he'd said all the same.

"That said, I ought to go prepare-"
​

"Why a'course I can, pardner! They're hopin' to put this footage in the handsa folk who wanna bring lady Schnee down, and who better than the buncha violent insurrectionists sowin' discord and unrest across both cities?! Thank GOODNESS ah'm sucha feared'n respected figure in the underworld!"