January 7th
Team RWBY Dormitory
7:31 PM
"Hey there, firecracker," Qrow said, leaning against the door his arms crossed and a faint smile on his face with Emmett Schnee next to him.
Emmett rolled his eyes whens he didn't respond and instead opted to watch Team JNPR, Team CI, Allen, Cas, and the rest of Team RWBY outside. "So you're just going to sit here and mope? You know, Ivy was really upset about you pushing her away and not wanting to see her."
"Maybe I don't want to see anyone because I'm disgraced," Yang said, unsurprised by them and not turning around. "But hey, Emmett, Qrow."
The two of them shifted into the room while Qrow snorted as if he found her response amusing before sighing and looking at her seriously. "So, why'd you do it?"
Finally turning around, Yang closed her eyes briefly before responding. "You know why."
"All I know is that you attacked a helpless kid," Qrow told her, uncrossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at he looked at her. "So either you're lying or you're crazy."
Emmett elbowed Qrow hard in the chest as the younger man smirked. "Shut up, Qrow. You know she didn't do it."
"Do I?" Qrow asked him, his smirk retained.
Yang stared at her uncle in shock that quickly turned to resolve as she defended herself. "I'm not lying!"
Letting out a noise of disappointment, Qrow casually walked into the centre of the room with his hands in his pockets. "Crazy, got it."
"Who knows?" Yang said, looking at Emmett with almost pleading eyes for him to come to her defense more vehemently. "Maybe I am."
Shaking his head while continuing to pace, Qrow sighed. "And I thought your dark haired friend was the emo one…"
Unsure of how to approach the subject, and also unsure of how much he knew, Yang looked at both of them but more so Qrow, watching him when he stopped upon her words. "I saw my mom. I...I was in a lot of trouble. Took a pretty hard hit...but when I came to, the person attacking me was gone and I thought I was seeing things until she dissipated her creepy, shifting red portal and addressed me. We...we...stared at each other for several minutes and I...I recognized her as my mom because...because of her sword, like the one in you and dad's old picture."
Laughing, Qrow nodded and smiled sadly. "You're not crazy, Yang. That was your mom, all right. Let me guess - she didn't say a word, did she?"
Yang shook her head as he walked towards her between the bunk beds. "No. We...talked and that...that...did Ruby tell you who told her -"
"You told her that she was my daughter before Tai and Liz did," Qrow said, leaning against the bunk beds heavily. "I was wondering where you learnt about that...though Raven is the last person I expected despite it not being surprising. You've seen her since then, haven't you?"
"How did you know that?" Yang asked him in surprise at the last.
"I don't see my sister very often," Qrow admitted and Emmett glared at him, being able to say the same for the first but not for what he followed that with. "But she does try to keep in touch… whenever it suits her."
"I don't see mine very often either," Emmett said, glaring at him still. "But one's an alcoholic who barely sees anyone except for her girlfriend, Lisa Lavender, and the other only shows up when she wants to kill someone in my family."
"You have it worse," Qrow conceded, knowing that for all her faults and not being above killing that Raven wouldn't touch her family. "At least my sister didn't kill my fiance. So that's another sin on the hearts of the Schnee family."
"Okay, you can't blame me for the fact that my sister is a psychopath," Emmett said, childishly sticking out his tongue. "And she killed my wife in front of me -"
"Funny," Qrow said, winking suggestively to which Emmett gagged. "Because she did the exact same thing to me! And she brutally abused Elizabeth so that she'd keep her silence though she stupidly didn't account for the fact that the United Kingdom Of Atlas has ways of getting everyone to give up what information they know. In front of the Atlesian Council, lock up the knives and babies so that you don't -"
"You don't even understand the Atlesian Council -" Emmett protested though Qrow quickly countered with an evil grin.
"Sorry," He said, taking a long draught from his flask. "But that's coming from a man who thought he could just burst in on a council meeting and get his way when it came to the launching of an investigation. I mean that, by the way."
Emmett rolled his eyes. "See, here's the thing, Qrow, you have a sister who practically owns part of Mistral. I have a sister that is half a maiden and is trying to bring about the fall of Beacon Academy. So neither of us win! Yay!"
"Wait…" Yang said, drawing them back to Qrow's comment about staying in touch with Raven. "You mean yout talk to her? That was real? It wasn't a joke that you and she talk, I mean."
"Yeah," Qrow said, almost irritably as he thought to the way his sister had corned him in a small, shady pub in Vacuo a few weeks back. "She had a tip from my most recent assignment and wanted me to give you a message that she claims she already gave you...and she concluded that cryptically with 'among other things I discussed with my daughter.'"
Anger almost seemed to take over Yang's face though her tone was more shocked. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Sighing, Qrow went over to the window though he didn't look at her while Emmett did, searching for any sign of what else Raven might have told the girl. "I was trying to wait for the right time, and this sure ain't it...but I guess you deserve to know." Finally looking at her, his gaze was solemn. "She wanted me to tell you that she saved you once, but you shouldn't expect that kindness again. Raven's got an...interesting way of looking at the world that I don't particularly...agree with. And she's dangerous." A smirk over took his face again, much to his niece's visible relief. "But you're a tough egg, kiddo. Shouldn't let this tournament thing get'cha down. You had a slip up, sometimes bad things just happen. I say it's time you move on."
"Don't you want to know what else she told me?" Yang asked, her lilac eyes wide and her voice quiet as she looked to both of them but primarily Emmett. "She said, and I quote: 'Listen to me Yang, Ozpin will fail and Beacon will fall.' She then...she asked me to join her tribe."
"Raven confirmed what I saw?" Emmett looked at her in disbelief before pulling out his scroll. "Damn it, I don't care that it's Raven Branwen, she's not stupid and if she has even the slightest psychic abilities then I think we should all be worried about her."
"No kidding," Qrow remarked bitterly, knowing that she had had gotten things right before. "But I seriously doubt...no, Beacon ain't going to fall, not while Ozpin's headmaster. Anyone else, or more specifically anyone that's not in our little group, sure. But us, nah."
"And that's you being too much of an optimist," Emmett told him, his voice slow and deadly serious while he glanced back at his messages. "And Rose agrees with me."
"Ugh," Qrow said, leaning against the dresser under the window with almost his full weight. "Fucking Rose Varna now too? That's all of us except for me and Oz, Emmett. I mean, Glynda, James, and Liz have never had a reason to doubt your visions -"
"And you shouldn't either," Emmett counterned, shaking slightly. "Because I did everything in my power to have Ozpin cancel that mission that Glynda and Summer had in the city almost twenty years ago. The one in which -"
"You knew about that and you didn't tell me?" Qrow shouted, half ready to strangle the man right then and there. "I'll have you know that because of that accident, Summer miscarried -"
"I know!" Emmett shouted back. "Okay, I know! But that doesn't fucking change anything! If I had told you, it would have made you even more paranoid about your semblance, wouldn't it? Or you wouldn't have listened! So tell me, Qrow, would it have really helped?"
Qrow groaned, knowing he was right. "No, but I still had a right to know!"
"It was twenty years ago, just about!" Emmett repeated in exasperation. "And you are seriously just the one that told your niece that she needs to move her little self on, so why don't you -"
Yang stared up to Qrow. "Move on to what?"
Contenting himself with a half angry glare to Emmett, Qrow turned his focus back to her. "Well...Raven let some info slip before she took off. If you ever want to track her down, I think I might be able to help."
Though not still seriously considering the offer, Yang looked at him eagerly with her full attention.
January 8th
Beacon CCTS Tower; Beacon Academy
City Of Vale; Vale
"Don't you see?" Emmett said, trying to keep himself calm while Ozpin sighed. "I'm not the only one, and if Raven Fucking Branwen is telling her daughter, a girl she abandoned, that Beacon is going to fall then the chances are -"
"Schnee's right," Qrow said, leaning against the wall and drinking from his flask. "My sister's dangerous, but she's confirming something he said."
"And what will Beacon fall to, Emmett?" Ozpin asked, trying to be rational. "Certainly not grimm, it's a huntsman academy and I'm sure we all could easily take any grimm that attempted an attack. Might I ask if this is an attempt to hunt down and kill your sister?"
"Believe me," Emmett muttered irritably. "If I could have killed her a long time ago, I would have."
"And denied me the pleasure?" Elizabeth asked with her arms crossed. "Fuck you."
"Sorry," Emmett said, turning to look at her. "I'm not going to have sex with you though I'm sure Tai does love doing so."
Elizabeth turned pink while Rose started to laugh with Qrow before stopping when she realized they agreed on something. "Sorry, Liz. Emmett, that's not fair!"
"Thank you, Rose," Elizabeth said, crossing her arms with a heavy sigh and a glare to Qrow. "And you shouldn't find that amusing!"
"So you're not angry with me?" Emmett asked, almost as if he were a child that drawn all over the walls and their parents had told them that were disappointed rather than angry. Zoning out to her response while the rest of the group engaged itself in a heated debate, Emmett thought back to his childhood though more specifically the reading of The Last Will And Testament Of Nicholas Jasper Schnee, his father.
"Emmett…" Willow hissed as the boy pulled his elbow length white waves back into a high bun. "I know father wouldn't have approved. He was always nagging at you to cut your hair."
Shrugging, Emmett looked to her as they entered the small room in the Schnee manor after having left the expansive hall in which the closed casket that contained their father had been front and centre at the end of it before the burial. "I feel like Jacques told you to say that."
"How...how…how dare...the nerve…" Willow spluttered though Fallon came up from behind and smacked the back of her sister's head.
"Shove it Willow, none of us want to hear it," Fallon said, gesturing at the room they had entered with her nearly full cocktail and a roll of her eyes. "If father had really cared about the length of Emmett's hair, then he would have forced a hair cut while the boy was alive. Fuck off, he's fifteen which means that he's supposed to be rebellious."
"Is everyone here?" Nicholas's personal lawyer asked and they glanced around before Willow told him no, that they were waiting for her husband and daughter.
Fallon scoffed and swirled her drink before taking yet another sip of it. Leaning against the bookcase, she found her thoughts wandering to how much of her father's fortune she was going to receive as well as what else he might have left to her name. Emmett, in contrast, was perched on the higher arm of the chaise lounge and had crossed his legs at his knees. His sword was in his hands and he was looking over it before he let his hair down and twisted it together. Raising his sword, Emmett slowly began to whittle away his hair and it was just a little over a minute past the time he started that his hair was chin length and the other thirty one centimetres of it were on the floor. Willow gaped at him in shock and horror, but even more so when he simply reattached his sword to his side and picked up his discarded hair, tossing it into and filling up the small rubbish bin on the other side of the room.
"Emmett!" Willow exclaimed though Fallon peered over at the scene through her glass. "What in the hell -"
"Willow…" Jacques said, sliding into the room with the five year old Winter who immediately ran over to her uncle and sat down beside him while Jacques glowered. "Emmett. Pleasure to see you."
Emmett snorted. "Yeah, I can't say the same. What the fuck were you doing that took you so long? Were you getting high? Were you drinking? Or were you counting your lien in anticipation for what insurmountable fortune my father undoubtedly left you?"
"Do watch your language around your niece," Jacques told him, sitting down beside Willow on the other side of the room. "And I cannot say I am a fan of it either."
"What does 'fuck' mean?" The five year old asked innocently and Emmett smirked, meeting her fist with his though the others stared in shock. "I just -"
"Later," Emmett told her, looking to the lawyer and pointing to Jacques. "So, what is that bastard gaining?"
The lawyer sighed, adjusting his glasses and beginning to read the will. "The Last Will And Testament Of Nicholas Jasper Schnee. First, to my son in law, Jacques Louis Gele-Schnee, I leave my entire business empire - passing ownership and all control onto him."
"No!" Emmett and Fallon screamed simultaneously, glaring at each other when they realized what they had done. "Just no!"
The lawyer went on after their protests abated. "To my eldest daughter, Fallon Madeline Cinder Jaina Schnee, I leave one seventh of my personal fortune so that she may continue on in whatever career she wishes to pursue. I also leave her all of the family jewels and the summer home in the southern part of the Republic Of Mistral."
"Yes…" Fallon murmured, drinking still. "That's lovely news...I mean, it's a tragedy I lost my father but at least he had a heart."
"Get on with it," Jacques snapped. "What did my wife -"
"Willow Schnee receives another seventh of Nicholas's personal fortune and the deeds of the Schnee Manor are all transferred into her name. Her name, I should emphasize, not yours." With Jacques speechless, the lawyer reread the next part twice, his eyes widening in shock. "As for Emmett Arthur Schnee, it states that he is to receive five sevenths of my personal fortune -"
"What?" Emmett screamed in shock, trying to calculate how much that was. "He -"
"Mister Schnee, that translate to about eighty million lien," The lawyer informed him and Emmett's eyes were widening by the second. "And it doesn't state that you have a trustee until your eighteenth birthday which, considering that it explicitly states for it to all go directly to you regardless of circumstance -"
"He inherits eighty million lien?" Jacques demanded, shocked by the move. "That's impossible!"
"Would you like to read it for yourself?" The lawyer asked in perfect seriousness and Jacques nodded, roughly taking the paper from him and angrily shoving it back into his hands when he saw that it was in fact true. "Now," The lawyer said, going on. "Mister Emmett Schnee, I would say that this has all made you an incredibly wealthy young man."
Fallon spit, before rolling her eyes. "Pardon me, but I think that makes him not simply an 'incredibly wealthy young man' but it makes him the wealthiest fucking teenager in the world! We're the Schnee's! And while I know most of my father's personal fortune went right into the SDC, he was incredibly wealthy regardless and this demonstrates that! Being Schnee's makes us practically royalty! Well…" Fallon smirked as she looked to Jacques. "Apart from, him, anyways."
January 13th
Amity Colosseum
8:32 PM
"Ruby…" Elizabeth said, one hand on her gun as they walked. "I really am not in the mood to watch another fight. It's been days, sure, but after what happened with Yang I just...you know Tai and Violet went back to Patch, right? Because of what happened. Rubes, I'm not going to lie to you and say that things are fine because the truth is they aren't. It's dangerous here, or at least it's becoming dangerous here, and that's why Tai and Violet left. I'm staying because I have to, but -"
"Liza…" Ruby began, clutching her free hand. "Come on, it's just one fight! Please? For me?"
Staring at the girl's round silver eyes, Elizabeth let out an irritated noise of disapproval. "Okay, for one, it's not fair for you to pull those eyes on me because you know that I can't say no to them. You know that, Ruby and...ugh...fine! I give up! You win!"
Smiling widely as Ruby dragged her down towards an open seat with her adoptive step mother in hand, she too couldn't help but cheer though she wished just as much as Elizabeth and James that Yang didn't have to have been disqualified. So it spite of everything, she took in the large crowd before her eyes widened in shock upon seeing another girl on the other side of the arena. Green hair and narrowed eyes, Emerald was looking at her although her gaze quickly traveled to Elizabeth in the same anger and contempt that it had had for her. Shock spreading through her, Ruby gulped in fear before Elizabeth turned to look at her and placed her hands on the girl's shoulders, trying to figure out what was wrong.
"Ruby…" Elizabeth began slowly. "Did you see something?"
Slowly, the girl nodded. "I think...Emerald...but then why is she...why is she here?"
Recognizing the name of one of Mercury Black's teammates, Elizabeth stiffened as she looked towards where Ruby had been. Sure enough, the girl with the minty hair leaned forward to glare at both of them before she watched the goth and the Atlesian President run off after her - both with immensely worried expressions. Reaching an exit tunnel, Ruby checked to see if no one except for her and Elizabeth were around while, carefully, they ducked through a door with a yellow sign declaring it to be for maintenance. Finding themselves on the inside of the Amity Colosseum, Elizabeth tried to recall the maps of the layout though she was struggling as she followed Ruby's determined stride and they both listened to the slightly muffled voices of the announcers through the heavy, brick walls.
"...All right!" Oobleck declared. "...It's now time to begin the randomization process for our next fight now that our several days of delay have passed!"
"No kidding," Elizabeth muttered, faintly hearing the sound of the roulette while Ruby stopped short once again at the sight of yet another one of her unexpected friends as he stepped out of one of the nearby tunnels, completely unharmed and evidently not going on.
"Mercury?" Ruby asked, squinting as if she was confirming his identity while Elizabeth placed a hand protectively on her shoulder.
"Ruby, let's -"
Port was faintly heard from above and Elizabeth almost felt as if her heart was going to stop in fear of his words. "It looks like our first contender is… Penny Polendina from Atlas…"
Ruby's attention shifted as she spoke though Elizabeth's did not. "What are you doing?"
Port continued, and the recognition of her opponent made Elizabeth feel ill. "And her opponent will be… Pyrrha Nikos from Beacon."
"No…" Ruby murmured, her head dipping as she thought and the horrific truth of what could happen to Penny came to her.
"Ooh…" Mercury began, tapping his chin as he looked at her before turning to Elizabeth. "Polarity versus metal. That could be bad. Wouldn't you agree, Madame President?"
"How in the hell are you even aware of that?" Elizabeth demanded, both of her hands on her gun. "I know for a fact that that is one of the most highly classified pieces of information in -"
"Ah, but you see," Mercury said as he leaned against the wall. "Ironwood's daughter was right about Cecily not being who she says she is -"
"I know that!" Elizabeth snapped moving towards him so they were standing eye to eye. "And I know that because she's my assailant -"
"Yes," Mercury confirmed. "And believe me, she didn't think you were her best -"
Oobleck continued though Elizabeth focused now on Mercury's words. "...Fighters, are you ready?"
A harsh, angry slapped pushed across his face and he looked up at her in shock before turning to Ruby who was glaring at him. As she reached back to take Crescent Rose into her hands, she remembered in slight fear that she didn't have her HCSS on her and her opponent began to grin maliciously, setting himself into a fighting stance. From above them, they could hear the centre of the arena lifting into the air for the second time and, from her scroll, Elizabeth could see that Penny, still oblivious to the danger of the situation, was grinning wildly. Looking from her adoptive step daughter to Mercury, Elizabeth quickly fired a warning shot in his direction to escape up to the arena in an attempt to stop the fight. Tearing her way up the stairs and through the crowds, Elizabeth saw James notice her and begin to follow her, stopping when he caught up.
"Are you -"
"No, James, I'm not," Elizabeth snapped, pointing down to the fight below. "This fight, it's too dangerous! Pyrrha Nikos…her semblance is polarity! If she used it at all, it could destroy Penny in an instant and that girl had no choice in her creation! Android or not, I have to protect her!"
"I agree," James said as they began to head up towards the box where Port and Oobleck were. "This was unethical to begin with, but it will be worse if we don't take responsibility."
"No," Elizabeth said, her hands shaking. "You aren't taking responsibility for this. I am."
James stared at her in shock. "Liz, that could destroy everything that you've -"
"I've spent years trying to right my wrongs!" Elizabeth reminded him, tears in her eyes. "I'll be damned before I let this happen, even if it destroys my career!"
Forcing her way into the box with James behind her, Elizabeth looked to Port and Oobleck seriously before sighing. "Stop the match, stop it right now."
"President Morell, neither of us can do that," Port told her. "Not unless -"
With a sharp look to Oobleck, he stopped the recording from inside the box itself with all recording specifically of the match. "Why?"
"Because that girl," Elizabeth said, gesturing to Penny. "Is an android. Miss Nikos's semblance could destroy her -"
Port began to laugh though Oobleck hesitated. "President Morell, that's preposterous!"
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Elizabeth asked, her almost claw like nails tapping against the edge. "I'm serious, do you two think I'm playing any games? Because I'm not -"
"President Morell," Oobleck began respectfully. "I truly doubt that claim, if only because if the United Kingdom Of Atlas had developed a sentient android with an aura of all things that it would be public knowledge -"
Elizabeth sighed in agitation, nervously looking back at the fight. Below her, however, Ruby was still facing Mercury, confusion taking her over. Though she hadn't truly believed that Yang had attacked him, the footage had insisted that he had and that had placed a faint seed of doubt in her mind. Still, seeing him up and standing was enough to make her almost positive that he really had never been attacked. The idea of Yang's story being true washing over her in torrents, Ruby narrowed her eyes in suspicion while the boy continued to smile at her maliciously. Recalling what Cas had said about him being on the same faux team as the Schnee's aunt, Ruby's heart dropped in terrible realization as she began to speak, attempting to force him to confirm the suspicions she held.
"Mercury, what are you doing? You were hurt why…" Narrowing her eyes, she went on while he continued to grin. "Fine. If you're not going to tell me…" Ruby moved to block her though the second time he did so she sidestepped him while he smirked and replied, finally giving her the confirmation she needed. "Showtime."
Going forward, Mercury blocked the younger girl's path with fully extended arms so that, regardless of where she moved to, she was completely blocked in her field of motion. Also knowing that she didn't have any form of a distraction on her like Elizabeth Morell had, Mercury felt no fear at doing this though he was caught off guard when she, in panic, grimaced before spinning forward in application of her semblance. All he saw was a blur of red and rose petals speeding towards her in anger though he managed to kick her mid way through her dash with his boots, effectively knocking her to the ground. Taking out her scroll, she was just about to call her contacts for help when she looked at him in shock when a bullet from one of his boots shattered her device into many shards on the ground. Lowering his leg from the kick that had knocked her down, Mercury continued to move towards her while speaking.
"Let's just keep this between us friends…"
Attempting to block yet another kick from the boy, Ruby found herself getting smacked in the face with his boot. Finally managing to get out of the fire of his subsequent attack, she leapt over his leg and spiraled past him with his semblance, getting almost all of the way down the long corridor. Kicking herself off of the wall and falling to the ground, Ruby pumped her arms furiously as she continued her mad dash towards the exit, successfully evading the associate of Cinder Fall that she now knew for certain had framed her sister for his nonexistent injury.
January 13th
Amity Colosseum
8:45 PM
In the vast arena of the Amity Colosseum, Pyrrha was smiling as she readied herself for her fight though there was a part of her that felt sick. Remembering her mother's warning to never trust her gut over her logic, Pyrrha shook off the feeling and waved towards Penny who was smiling brightly before she politely saluted her opponent and then placed her hands on her hips in excitement. Looking up to her team in the stands, Pyrrha watched Jaune waving at her and she smiled back to him while Ren was faintly applauding and cheering. Nora, of course, was the most energetic of her teammates and was half bouncing in her seat out of pure excitement, shouting almost nonsensical words of encouragement to her that she nonetheless appreciated. She knew that Avril had tried to be there when she had made it into the finals of the Vytal Festival Tournament, but a mission in their hometown in Mistral had come up unexpectedly and she couldn't bring herself to pass it up. Despite wanting her mother present, Pyrrha truly did value her mother's courage and placing her beliefs first because she knew that her mother honestly wanted to protect and defend other people.
"Salutations, Pyrrha Nikos!" Penny exclaimed, her hands still on her hips in excitement. "It's an honour to finally meet you!"
"It's very nice to meet you as well," Pyrrha replied with a smile and Penny beamed in response.
"This is going to be so much fun!" The girl exclaimed, looking around while Pyrrha raised an eyebrow upon seeing Emerald Sustrai leaning forward with a glare on her face.
"3...2...1…" Oobleck began quickly, leaning forward as he announced the fight. "Begin!"
To Pyrrha's surprise, Penny surrounded herself with her floating swords and shifted them around her at will just before she launched several of them towards Pyrrha who ran towards them - leaping through and sometimes deflecting the oncoming blades. The weapons all flew through the air before the began to turn back towards to her and the fight. Her shield on her back, Pyrrha twirled her javelin to block the swords swiping at her though she dropped her weapon to perform a somersault in order to evade a slash. Naturally, she magnetically returned the javelin to her hand just as she noticed Penny holding her next set of blades at the ready while Port continued his commentary.
"My word! What a tremendous display by Miss Polendina!"
Almost directly after these words, the broadcast silenced both of the commentators on what appeared from the distance to be Oobleck's command while General James Ironwood and President Elizabeth Morell entered the box. Coming back to the fight, her face hardened by it, Pyrrha rushed forward to jump a top an oncoming sword and began to swing down on Penny. The girl backed away like she did, and Pyrrha began to defend herself against the swords that were relentless with her weapon's full length but still got pushed heavily backwards and found herself needing to roll her shield onto her arm once again with her polarity. She could hear people cheering and she could see Ren pumping his fist and Jaune watching her in worry though no one's words were helping her as the feeling of something being wrong continued to take her over. Seeing her semblance bend her weapons unnaturally, Pyrrha fixed them immediately while the green haired girl, Emerald, continued to stare at her with a narrowed gaze.
Spinning almost erratically, Pyrrha managed to deflect and dodge all of the swords while once again getting close enough to pain to slash her with her spear and sending her back. At the same time, she bat the blades back while they were called back to Penny who stopped and motioned differently, allowing her weapons to fold into laser rifles that began to open fire on Pyrrha as she approached. Avoiding the blasts while fighting off the still with standing swords, Pyrrha slid into a new position to charge at the girl and knock her backwards while straightening with a victorious grin though it quickly faded into dizziness as Penny blasted forward with her weapons which allowed her to leap into the air and come down hard on her opponent. Rolling up to her feet again, a sword knocked her shield off and did the same to her blade while attempting to get her blade back with her polarity but uses the power instead to send a sword into the girl's side but it disappeared behind her instead, allowing her a chance to strike again.
Emerald continued to stare angrily down into the arena and suddenly a sharp sound like gunshot was heard and everyone looked up in shock and, even from where she was, Emerald could see Elizabeth Morell shaking while James Ironwood froze in shock. Down in the arena, to Pyrrha's perception, the eight blades that Penny had out multiplied once but then doubled and tripled. Though it wasn't real, Pyrrha stepped back unsteadily as all of the eight swords moved towards her in the guise of triple that, her vision completely blocked all around. Seeing, supposedly, hundreds of swords flying at her, Pyrrha closed her eyes tightly and used her semblance to send them back to the girl who was unwittingly affected by the magnetic shock wave. A brief moment was all Pyrrha had to break out of the trance, but it was too late and Penny's arms were spread all the way and she gasped in shock while the strings of her weapons curled tightly around her left arm and midsection - all of which crumpled under the force and sliced the electronics within the android girl. Staring at what she had done, Pyrrha's mouth was agape and her eyes in horror while Port came back over the commentary while Ironwood stared at the terrible scene in equal horror and Elizabeth actually vomited to the side upon seeing the dark, lifeless pupils that overtook Penny's eyes while she shut down forever.
"No!" Port exclaimed as Penny's remains sparked with electricity.
Placing a hand to his ear while the arena lowered, Oobleck called to the broadcasters. "Broadcast, what are you doing? Kill the feed!"
Through the earpiece, they replied in fear. "Something's wrong! We don't have control of the cameras! We can't even stop the broadcast!"
"What?" Oobleck demanded as Elizabeth stood up from the rubbish bin to which she had been vomiting and listened as his response was cut short while the background behind Port and Oobleck shifted to a sickeningly familiar bright red while Cinder's Red Queen symbol hovered over the scene and Elizabeth bit back another wave of nausea and sick as the all too familiar voice spoke. "How is that possible -"
"This is not a tragedy," She began. "This was not an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children, to men and women who claim to be our guardians but are, in reality, nothing more than that. Our foreign leaders, but more specifically our Academies' Headmasters, wield more power than most armies and one was audacious enough to control both. They cling to power in the name of peace, and yet, what do we have here? One nation's attempt at a synthetic army, mercilessly torn apart by another's star pupil. What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent little girl. I don't think the grimm can tell the difference. I won't dawdle on the subject, but Atlesian President Elizabeth Morell certainly looks worse for this, doesn't she? Apart from being scared by her past, she clearly knew something about the android - otherwise, would she have puked upon seeing her being destroyed?"
Elizabeth shook as she leaned heavily against the wall, a dizzy feeling starting on her as she ran out of the box to find others while her assailant continued her speech.
"And what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching his students. Apart from his sudden marriage to Vacuo's Prime Minister, Rosalinde Varna, which I can only imagine was an attempt to align his interests with Vacuo's, there was first a dismemberment and now this. Huntsmen and Huntresses should carry themselves with honour and mercy, yet I have witnessed neither. Perhaps Ozpin felt as though defeating Atlas in the Tournament would help people forget his colossal failure to protect Vale when the grimm invaded its streets. Or perhaps this was his message to Atlas's second tyrannical dictator in direct succession following the death of Emmeline Ciel? This is, of course, Atlas - the kingdom that has occupied another unsuspecting kingdom with its armed forces. Honestly, I haven't the slightest clue as to who is right and who is wrong...but I know the existence of peace is fragile, and the leaders of our kingdoms conduct their business with iron gloves.
"As someone who...hails from Mistral, I can assure you the situation there is...equally undesirable. Our kingdoms are on the brink of war, yet we, the citizens, are left in the dark. So I ask you the same thing that Atlesian General Emmeline Ciel did before her assassination: When the first shots are fired...who do you think you can trust?"
The warning alarm began to ring out through the entire colosseum while everyone looked up in terror at the screens flashing orange and reading CAUTION. Followed by this was the warning announcement and everyone began to flee through the tunnels. "Alert. Incoming grimm attack. Threat Level: Nine. Please seek shelter in a calm and orderly manner."
Knowing that the panic would only draw more grimm, James tried to control that though to no avail as a large Nevermore began to peck at the defenses of the Amity Colosseum with its beak. "Ladies and gentlemen, please. There is no need for panic."
Through the speculation however, his scroll began to go off and he cursed as he answered it though Ozpin spoke first. "The hell -"
Looking up at the nevermore, James cut him off though stammering. "Ozpin, the girl...I...I...I can explain!"
"You brought your army to my kingdom, James," Ozpin told him, pausing before finishing in unusual anger. "Use it."
James let his worry shift into pure nerve and determination as he took in the situation. In the headmaster's office, however, Ozpin was still watching the city come under attack in horror with Rose by his side. She shook slightly as she heard the breaking of metal outside and gently released herself from around him and pulled her spell book out of her bag. Looking at him, Rose rummaged around in her bag for her bow staff before taking it in hand and tightly wrapping her arms around his neck, bringing him down into a slow, deep kiss that she imbued with all of her passion. Emmett had been right, and so had Raven and it was jarring to see that and the possibility of losing him loomed over her darkly.
"Oz…" She whispered and he sighed, pulling her in tightly with a hand almost sealed to his cane. "I love you."
"I love you too, my dear Rosalinde," Ozpin said, kissing her again. "I have for years, and I always will love you..." Sighing heavily, Ozpin cupped her face in his hands. "The vault, that's where she'll be heading."
"Oz!" Qrow exclaims, bursting into the room with Glynda while Rose and Ozpin split apart. Turning to face them, Ozpin shook as he spoke.
"Get to the city!"
Qrow began to protest but found himself stopped by the headmaster. "But -"
"Now!" Ozpin told him resolutely, and Qrow and Glynda exchanged a look before going back the way they came.
At the same time, Rose sent a message to Elizabeth telling her they were going to the Vault before kissing Ozpin one more time before the two of them began to run off towards Beacon Academy's best and worst guarded secret.
January 13th
Beacon Academy; Vale
9:34 PM
"Damn it!" Elizabeth said, pulling out her gun after putting away her scroll. "Fuck it! I'm going to the vault because if I had to bet that's where Rose is -"
"Okay, fine," Emmett said, Hope tightly in his arms, as he handed her some raw Dust crystals while she raised an eyebrow. "My nieces have access to these things easily. Not that I don't, but…"
"Emmett, what the hell am I supposed to do with raw Dust?" Elizabeth asked as she took them and dropped them in her bag. "My gun uses Dust rounds, not -"
"I don't know!" Emmett exclaimed as he ran into Caitlin, Ivy, and Cas. "Okay, I sort of just either imbue it into my sword or throw it. Do it however you like, I don't fucking care, and I doubt it matters!"
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes as all of them temporarily stopped moving. "What does that -"
Groaning Emmett shook out his long white waves before sighing. "Liz, just put the thing in the thing! That's how it works! You put one thing into or thrust it at the the other thing and it works!"
Smirking, Elizabeth crossed her arms with her gun still in hand. "Oh, so like sex?"
"Yes!" Emmett said, laughing while Caitlin tried not to and Ivy and Cas didn't hold back. "Yes, exactly like sex, but without the sex!"
"Okay," Elizabeth said, getting ready to run off again towards the vault. "I'll remember that and go fuck my enemies over with it."
"That's the spirit!" Emmett screamed as she ran off. "Go fuck them over!"
"F...f...fuck?" Hope asked, looking at him though she squirmed in fear when she saw some of the grimm. "Fuck?"
Emmett giggled in spite of himself. "Hope, we just have to get into the city and to my ship and then it will all be okay. I'll stay with you so you won't be scared. And you three….well," Emmett said as he held out his scroll. "We'll be in contact while you fight and I'm with her."
"Oh...oh!" A terrifyingly familiar voice said as it walked in front of them, her glass heels clicking against the asphalt. "Emmett! Looks like you've got General Ironwood and Glynda Goodwitch's brats as well as your own!"
Shaking as he met her Amber eyes while Cas pulled out Shimmer and Caitlin placed a hand on Catalejo and Ivy steadied Marfil while pointing at her, Emmett forced himself to speak as he pulled Hope closer to him, refusing to let her see the face of her mother's killer. "Cinder."
"Aww, not calling me 'Fal' anymore?" Cinder asked, her voice falsely sweet as she manipulated what maiden powers she had to allow herself to move too quickly for Emmett to stop her from looking at Hope who shrunk back in fear and clutched Emmett's white leather jacket tightly. "Hi...my name's Cinder, your aunt Cinder...what's your name."
Hope shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut, terrified by the eyes from her nightmare. "No, no, no, no, no."
"You monster!" Emmett shouted at her as he turned so that she couldn't torture Hope further. "I'm not even going to get into the things you did to my family - though you know just as well as I do that you're the reason Hope never really knew her mother - but let's talk about the shit you did to Elizabeth Morell." Seeing the shock on her face, Emmett forced himself to continue. "Yes, see, whether you know it already or not, she's a member of our group with Ozpin and she told us all exactly what she did to you. She showed us that terrible, deep scar on her arm and told us about the ones on her chest, back, shoulders, ankles, and breasts. Not only that, but she told us about the things you held over her head, the threats you made, the fact that you raped her -"
Cinder laughed and Caitlin lightly placed a hand over the trigger of Catalejo and kept it aimed at her, ready to shoot if necessary. Looking at all of them, Cinder fluffed her hair and continued. "Alright, let me tell you something about Elizabeth Morell. I won't deny what I did to her with the rape, but she wasn't even that good. Not too wet, I'm afraid, and she was so...afraid -"
Emmett swiftly slapped her across her face, hard. "Of course she was! She's still afraid of you, oh she'll hold a gun at your head and will be able to pull the trigger but she's still terrified by you! In many ways, I am terrified of you and I know that you have got to be terrified of Salem, somewhere in you -"
"Shut up!" Cinder screeched, her eyes sparking in demonstration of her abilities as a maiden. "I am not afraid of anyone! I know what I'm after, I know that I'm after -"
"And what are you after?" Emmett challenged while her gaze shifted to Cas wrapping an arm tightly around Caitlin. "What are you after, Fallon Madeline Cinder Jaina Schnee?"
Cinder smiled slightly as she summoned her glass sword into her hand and began to move towards Caitlin and Cas before turning to her 'brother'. "You know why I do everything I have to do...I...I...I have no point, and I...I...I...I...I...I...I'm very much after power."
Lifting her sword menacingly while Caitlin slung Catalejo back to more easily push Cas off of her before steadying herself to fight the woman hand to hand. Attaching her glass sword to her side, Cinder engaged her with a smirk while Caitlin attempted tackle her. Failing to do so, she felt Cinder harshly kick her left hip and she screamed in pain before punching her in the breasts. Cinder shook in anger while Caitlin kicked her shin hard and attempted to hit her solar plexus but missed as Cinder made contact with her face, knocking her glasses aside though not breaking them. With the two women distracted, Cas ran over behind them to grab her partner's glasses while she continued to fight with her 'aunt'. Her vision highly blurred though still being able to see Cinder in fair clarity due to proximity, Caitlin tried to force herself to disappear with her semblance though this was to no avail. Taking advantage of the girl's distraction, Cinder kicked Caitlin to the ground and stepped on her stomach, keeping her pinned to the ground while her vibrant green eyes grew wide in fear and she shook. Turning to Emmett, Cinder smirked.
"This is what you get, Emmett," Cinder told him while he drew his sword and used his semblance to knock her back. "If you're going to play hero, then be ready to die because that's exactly what happens to those who try too hard to be heroes. Too bad Glynda and James won't see their eldest again...maybe it would have been better if she had killed herself...:"
"No!" Caitlin screamed, her vision still blurred as she didn't dare try and fire Catalejo. "No, fuck you, because that's just the past! I've learnt several things from it, and I'm not that foolish girl anymore! That was six years ago! And not only that, but I'm stronger than that! I'm stronger than you!"
Getting off of the ground and taking her sword in hand, Cinder started to run towards her though Caitlin was faster and Cinder stopped moving when she saw her target was coming towards her though she didn't realize she was a target. On the other hand, seeing Cinder's stance on her sword, Ivy screamed in horror and ran in the way of her sister as Cinder swung her sword hard and dissipated it. Caitlin stopped short, her breathing heavy, and almost sighed in relief when she saw her sister but screamed in horror herself when she realized that, though she and her twin were alive, Cinder's sword had taken Ivy's left arm and that it was lying on the ground beside them. Several long minutes passed in what felt like stalemate before Cinder laughed and placed her hands on her hips while looking at all of them as Ivy shook and Caitlin helped walk her backwards before Cas placed her glasses back on her face. Feeling sick at the rusty, salty odour of her sister's blood though more so at the sight, Caitlin, Ivy, Emmett, and Cas shared a look before Cas pointed Shimmer directly at her mother's killer and spoke fiercer and angrier than any of them had ever seen her.
"You killed my mother!" Cas shouted, lashing out at her so called aunt. "Besides the fact that I saw that footage you broadcast and therefore know that you killed her at point blank range, I walked in shortly after you had killed her and -"
"Casey…" Cinder said stepping close to her too quickly for Emmett to stop her and cupping her face in her hands. "Casey Emmeline Ciel-Schnee, I already told you that I'd never hurt you and I meant that. Apart from the fact that you're my niece, I love you as if you were my own daughter -"
"No!" Cas roared, sending her back with a powerful glyph while tears rose in Cinder's eyes. "How could you? How could you do what you did? How do you do what you do? How, you...you motherfucking bitch?"
"I told you Casey!" Cinder snapped, crossing her arms though she was starting to cry. "I don't have a fucking choice in the matter and I'm doing what I have to to survive and gain power -"
"You're a selfish bitch!" Cas insisted while Caitlin pulled her partner close to her. "You care only about yourself, for you it doesn't matter who you kill for the sake of power!"
"You're right!" Cinder agreed, crying as she saw her niece and her partner. "But I...I..I lov...loove...love you, Cas, and -"
"Payback's a bitch and so am I!" Caitlin shouted the way Tex had with O'Malley as she aimed at Cinder's shoulder and, to her surprise, hit it. "So go to hell!"
Cinder shook her head and ran off towards the vault though she stopped to look at Emmett one last time. "I'm becoming the Fall Maiden entirely, I'm taking the rest of that girl's power -"
"Good luck with that," Emmett said, smirking as he remembered that Amber's body was still down there in the pod. "I'm sure you'll be incredibly more powerful beyond belief!"
"Don't mock me!" Cinder snapped, throwing another summoned glass sword his way though he stopped it by shattering it with his sword. "I'm not going to hold back next time! So I hope you know you're going the same way as sweet dear Emmeline."
"How fucking dare you!" Ivy shouted, clutching her now only left shoulder in pain as her blood spewed onto her hand and she began to feel faint. "You don't even care, but General Emmeline Cecilia Ciel was family to all of us!"
"Emmett?" Glynda asked, her crop in hand as she ran from the Beacon CCTS tower with Qrow not far behind while they saw Cinder swiftly escape behind a cloud of fire Dust. "Damn it!"
"Oh thank god!" Emmett exclaimed as he embraced her. "You're alright...where's James?"
Glynda sighed. "Torchwick took over his ship so he's attempting to escape to the city where we are all headed on Ozpin's…" Eyes going wide and a slight gasp escaping her against her will and her hand tightening around her crop as she noticed her daughter's missing left arm, Glynda forced herself not to scream as she spoke slowly. "Ivy... you...your...your arm -"
"Cinder…" Ivy admitted, swaying from the dizziness that was starting to take her over while Glynda, Emmett, and Qrow exchanged a look. "She...she...she…"
"It's all my fault!" Caitlin exclaimed, starting to cry. "If I hadn't tried to attack her, she wouldn't have taken Ivy's arm -"
"She would have killed you!" Ivy countered, almost falling over though her sister and Cas barely caught her. "I…"
"My ship's not far from here," Emmett told them, pointing towards the docking bay where a dark grey ship was completely unoccupied. "That can get us all to the city and I'll stay with Hope and Ivy while the rest of you deal with the grimm…" Emmett sighed heavily, looking at his daughter and Caitlin. "I mean, unless you two want to stay with me."
"No," Caitlin said, shaking in fear. "I have to fight."
"Me too," Cas said, pulling him and her sister into a tight hug while Glynda grabbed Ivy's good arm and pulled her in, some of her daughter's blood spilling onto one of the sleeves of blouse. "Shit, this really is the end, isn't it?"
Tears in her eyes, Glynda ran her fingers through her curly side bangs. "I don't even know…"
