Everything that transpired the previous night because of Jacque Schnee's speech proved far from pleasant. With riots breaking out throughout the entirety of the lower city, Iridescence was tasked with the minimization of damage dealt to Mantle whilst simultaneously combating the incursion of Grimm that all the negativity incentivized to invade. Even for the various military specialists that Ironwood had at his disposal, that mission would've proven difficult to accomplish – and yet, somehow, Iridescence had managed to fulfill his orders. Additionally, their actions while on the ground possessed strategic merit, as well. Their avoidance of any participation in the mass arrests that took place during the riots preserved what reputation they'd build, while their team's emphasis on the preservation of peace and safety against the Grimm made their preexisting supporters' loyalty swell. Unfortunately, Ironwood was placed in the situation that he was forced to take the fall for the arrests that occurred, though he assured Iridescence later on that the damage dealt to his reputation was of minimal concern.

While sunrise hadn't been anytime soon when their jobs were complete, the quartet slept almost into the afternoon after they were finally dismissed. Their scheduled training had been postponed until closer to the evening because of their valor, which consequently gave them ample time to recover in their spacious penthouse apartment. Once everyone was awake, albeit still in whatever sleepwear they'd thrown onto themselves before they passed out, the group decision was made to keep themselves informed via the news. Election day had arrived.

Currently, the reporter who'd dominated the holographic display when they first turned onto the news station was out of view, the crew's camera instead focused on a close-up of Robyn Hill herself. Robyn's pleasant expression helped Opal immediately identify that she was merely putting on an act for the sake of her public image, while a largely empty warehouse stood at the hometown hero's back.

A microphone extended toward Robyn from off-camera. "Although rioting in Mantle is finally under control, how does it feel that the majority of those involved were your supporters?"

"While the people's anger might've been justified, I don't condone the expression of that anger through violence and rioting," Robyn deflected, "especially when our city is being denied aid for the hardships we've already had to go through; however, Jacque Schnee's latest stunt is holding the city hostage for his own political gains. So I understand the people's frustrations, but ask that they express it through senseless violence in the streets, but at the polls today."

"Wise words coming from Mantle's hometown hero," the reporter praised. "Undoubtedly, they'll touch the hearts of citizens across the entirety of Mantle. Do you have time for one more question, however?"

"Of course," Robyn replied.

"It's been confirmed that General Ironwood deployed Team Iridescence onto the scene of the Grimm attack that occurred during the riots last night," the reporter mentioned. "They were observed fighting on the frontlines during the crisis alongside other Atlesian specialists sent down from the upper city. As a licensed Huntress yourself, politically opposed to the actions of General Ironwood or not, there are some in Mantle who question your lack of participation in the defense. What say you?"

Robyn's calm mask faltered for only an instant. "While it's an unfortunate truth that I wasn't there to protect the people last night, I'd like to make it clear that it wasn't because of lack of concern or some outright negligence on my part. My three most loyal companions, the Happy Huntresses, would each be willing to attest that we were all on our own mission at the time – one that served as an independent, preemptive strike against a Grimm hive out in the tundra. It might not be of much solace to the people when their hometown hero wasn't there to protect them, but my only request is that they remember that my every action serves to ensure their prosperity in some way or another."

"On Remnant, it appears as though unforeseen circumstances can indeed be quite the wicked mistress these days," the reporter agreed. "Thank you for your time, Miss Hill."

From her meditative position on the floor, Opal blinked confusedly when the screen abruptly deactivated, but found her confusion alleviated immediately after she turned around, where she saw Lux casually dump the remote onto the couch cushion beside him. His medium-length blond hair currently laid limp, still not bound into his typical short ponytail quite yet.

"Well, that was awful." Lux relaxed into his seat. "I've always hated politics, anyway."

Tenebris' voice emerged from the short distance between their apartment's living room and the kitchen, where he was in the midst of making breakfast. "Does that mean you'd prefer Jacque to win the election over Hill?"

"No," Lux responded. "You know that wasn't what I meant, either."

"Yeah, yeah… all politicians suck, and somehow, ninety percent of everything that involves them turns into some kinda bullshit."

"Exactly," Lux confirmed. "Vale's council didn't constantly shove speeches down its citizens' throats. Mistral's had the decency to focus on dealing with the Grimm instead of making power plays while we were there. Vacuo's council doesn't take itself seriously, period, so we never had to deal with any of this fake-face crap back home."

"Don't need to tell me twice." Tenebris deftly slipped another pancake onto another one of the four plates he'd assembled for everyone. "But hey! No matter who gets elected, all the constant political maneuvering everyone's had to deal with ends tonight. It'll be nice."

"Robyn's certainly capable enough to play politician perfectly," Aurora noted. She emerged from the kitchen with two plates, only stopping to crouch down slightly and deliver Opal her helping. "Opal, you have experience with her. What do you think?"

Opal provided Aurora an incredibly grateful smile as her friend then wandered over to their living room's empty loveseat. She brushed an errant strand of her long, silky-smooth hair back behind her neck before answering. "Honestly? Robyn might have the best of intentions for the lower city, but she also hides her venom from everyone until she decides, for whatever reason, whether you're an enemy or someone she can make into an ally. When Lux, Blake, and I were released from prison, I saw some billboard with her face on it. Back then, I'd held hope that she'd really be who she wanted the people to think she is, but now…"

Lux hardly paid Tenebris any attention until he'd already plopped down beside him, offering his faunus brother the final plate of pancakes he'd prepared. "She's shown her true colors. Not to the people she supposedly cares so much about, but to her opposition… who are literally only trying to help the kingdom, just like her."

"It's either her way or the highway," Tenebris observed. Now relieved of his second plate, he raised his fork, finally free to taste the delectably sweet fruits of his labors. "With that kinda headstrong attitude, she'd probably do pretty well back home."

"Obstinate or not, we can't deny that she's doing her best," Aurora mentioned, halfway through her breakfast. "When we first arrived, we all saw what life in the lower city looks like. Now, say you were in her situation, and instead of Mantle it was Vacuo that was suffering so much. What would you two do?"

Tenebris waved his utensil at her. "For starters, there'd be an uprising."

Lux proudly fist-bumped him. "My man!"

Aurora sighed. "Opal, how do you handle him?"

Opal smirked knowingly. "Many ways."

"Hey, Opal!" Lux cheered.

"Ha. Nice. But in all seriousness…" Tenebris looked past his brother, toward Aurora, his expression somewhat calmer compared to their teammates' flirty smiles. "If some bigwigs back home decided it'd be a good idea to treat their citizens like garbage, we would lie, steal, cheat, and do whatever it took to make sure our hometown didn't suffer. No doubt about it."

"Hell, we did do that when we were back there," Lux recalled. "No matter how strong you are, if you're born in Vacuo, lien's gonna get tight sometimes. That's why we robbed Jupiter for the supplies we needed to make our weapons."

"That doesn't make Robyn right, though," Opal argued. "Nobody deserves the right to disrupt others' lives without justifiable cause."

"If that's how we want to judge morality, then what about us?" Aurora questioned. "Does our cause count as justified?"

At that statement, everybody in the room was given pause. Silent consideration became the expression that the quartet shared in the seconds that followed, brows furrowed, eyes fixed to either their unfinished meals or anywhere other than one another. While she mulled over the moral implications of Iridescence's allegiance to Ironwood, Opal recognized how much of a strong point Aurora had made. While Robyn's actions always ran on the knife's edge between overt illegality and outright treason, there was no denying that she was motivated by somewhat selfless desires. Similarly, Ironwood was driven to achieve his own heroic goals, but the path he'd taken to progress to pursue that end resulted in rather harsh consequences for the people his office was sworn to protect.

"You know…" Opal paused. "I think it is."

"And your reasons?" Aurora asked, curious.

"Yeah, not sure what to think yet myself," Tenebris noted. "I wanna hear this."

Opal alternated glances at them. "Alright. So, for starters… it's pretty obvious that everything Ironwood does affect more lives, especially when you consider Robyn's title as 'hometown hero' doesn't carry any concrete political power with it. Not yet. Ironwood's decisions have made the lives of everyone in the kingdom much harder, in almost every conceivable way, while everything that Robyn's done has only ever disrupted the lives of military personnel – who make up a fraction of the kingdom's population."

Lux hissed. "This doesn't make our alliance with Ironwood sound fantastic, Opal."

"I know, but hear me out," Opal gently insisted. "Yeah, on paper, it sounds like Iridescence's fighting for the wrong leader, but here's the thing – we aren't entirely in the wrong. Winter once told me that Robyn's aims were shortsighted, and she's right. Robyn's fighting for the lower city, but that's all she's fighting for. Atlas itself doesn't even seem like it's on her radar. Ironwood's choices haven't made life easy for this kingdom, yes, but he isn't in the position to play nice. In his eyes, he's had the weight of the world on his shoulders, but Amity Tower is proof that he's always placed Remnant itself as a higher priority than Atlas."

"Ironwood lets this kingdom suffer so that the entire planet can hopefully survive in the long run," Lux summarized. "Not ideal, but the logic holds up. If Robyn always had her way, then the other kingdoms, our homes, would be more-or-less left for dead."

"There aren't any simple answers when it comes to morality, huh?" Aurora said, somewhat wearily sinking into the loveseat.

"It'd be scarier if there were," Tenebris contested.

Lux tilted his head momentarily. "Then it's settled. If none of us can come up with some reason why we should prioritize one city over the entire world, then we stick with Ironwood. Right?"

Aurora nodded. Tenebris firmly echoed the gesture.

"This isn't an easy choice," Opal murmured. "For anyone. Iridescence stands to improve the lives of faunus everywhere, but we have to perpetuate the status quo longer if we want to actually stand some chance of doing that worldwide. We don't have to like what our jobs make us do while Amity Tower is still under construction… just understand that it's the only option that helps Remnant itself the most."

"Opal?" Aurora's eyes met hers. "We trust you."

"You haven't led us astray yet," Tenebris added.

"Thank you, guys…" Opal smiled softly.

Lux leaned forward to deposit his empty plate on the coffee table before his partner, but otherwise remained seated. "So, what's the plan now, chief?"

"The plan?" Opal asked. After gently placing her plate atop his, she stood and entered a rather catlike stretch before she continued. "We should all get ready for the combat simulator – can't afford to be late. I'm going to take a shower."

Lux shrugged. "Okay, fair enough."

Opal resisted the urge to smile as she watched her teammates rise, and instead elected to simply place a hand on her hip. That internal urge forced a slight smirk onto her lips, as when Lux had gathered their teammates' empty plates, she realized that he hadn't quite gotten the memo. Since there didn't appear to be any sense of urgency about the room, she decided to fix that.

"Lux? Don't worry about the dishes," Opal instructed.

"Wait, why?" Lux asked. "You're gonna shower."

"Because you're coming with me."

Like an animal caught in headlights, Lux froze.

"Is that a problem?" Opal asked flirtatiously.

"Nope!" Lux chirped. Shoving the dishes into Tenebris' arms, he eagerly marched in hot pursuit of his partner, who'd started down the hallway near the living room with an irresistible sway of her hips. "It was your turn anyway, man! I'm out!"

"They didn't just…?" Aurora asked.

"Nah. They will just," Tenebris teased.

Aurora's unmistakable whine of annoyance and embarrassment would become the last thing Opal heard before her bedroom door sealed itself shut.

Within the high-tech expanse that was Atlas Academy's famous combat simulator, Opal was surrounded by a veritable cacophony of activity. The sounds of gunfire, explosions, and taunts exclaimed between blows assailed her ears from afar, while the expulsion of dust through both the room's hard-light mechanisms and attacks from those present within the simulator stained the air with various earthy smells. Despite the havoc, however, there were three individuals who'd hidden themselves away around one corner of the combat simulator and pursued the peaceful practice of meditation while their friends engaged in miscellaneous high-octane fights.

Among the introspective trio, it was undeniable that Ren retained the deepest sense of tranquility the easiest, with his explanation for this phenomenon being that his ability to ignore outside stimuli was merely a prerequisite for empowering his semblance. Opal prided herself on her ability to find simple pleasure in meditation but found that her faunus trait inadvertently kept a sliver of her consciousness always rooted in reality. Jaune, having only adopted the practice back at Beacon, suffered the most difficulty in embracing meditative bliss; consequently, he was the first among them to break their companionable silence.

"Question," Jaune said.

"Potential answer," Opal responded.

"How exactly are either of you guys even able to pretend you can actually meditate with all this going on around us?" Jaune asked.

Opal then opened her eyes. Jaune's sword remained removed from his belt for the time being, while the messy blond himself had slouched somewhat from his typical meditative posture. "It's probably because we both have so much practice. Even before the twins were in the picture, it wasn't often that my home was dead silent, so I learned how to block out sound… though that skill isn't all that handy when there's constant combat everywhere else in the vicinity."

"Why even try, then?"

"Simple," Opal answered. "Because Ren."

"Wait what?" Jaune blinked confusedly.

Ren slowly opened his eyes. "What she might mean is that she possesses some aspiration to achieve the ability to maintain complete serenity no matter what situation she's thrust into, thereby emulating my behavior. Correct me if I'm wrong, Opal."

"Nope!" Opal chirped. "You summed it up completely."

"Huh. I guess that makes sense…" Jaune thought aloud. "If you can always think straight when things are stressful, then you're less likely to make mistakes that you'll regret later."

"Indeed," Ren agreed. "Though as stated previously, it's not reasonable to assume than anyone among us – not even either of you – could achieve my constant state of mind so easily. It's likely that my semblance, by its very nature, influences my ability to maintain my composure in most situations. Meditation in environments such as the one we find ourselves thereby helps me increase the efficiency of that ability, and therefore, my combat efficiency at large."

"Jaune! Ren makes a good point!" Pyrrha called from the sidelines, momentarily looking away from her match against Nora to join the conversation. "Remember when we trained on the roof at Beacon? One of your first lessons was to ignore all distractions while you're fighting!"

"Right!" Jaune agreed. "Watch your left, though!"

Pyrrha raised her shield to defend against Nora's semblance-augmented strike without a moment to spare. "Thank you, Jaune!"

Among the meditative trio, their potential efforts to immerse themselves in attempted ignorance of the outside world seemed to disintegrate while they watched JNPR's valiant 'invincible girl' spar against her teammate. While her initial performance in battle after her heel had fully recovered from Cinder's glass arrow had been noticeably impaired, Pyrrha's combat aptitude appeared to have made an almost complete return with the assistance of Atlas Academy's comprehensive training facilities. Given everything they'd gone through together against Cinder at Beacon, Opal was admittedly rather proud to see the woman once hailed as Mistral's up-and-coming champion back in tip-top shape.

Once Pyrrha drew her opponent around another the corner that consisted of hard-light walls, therefore removing the continued melee from their spectators' view, Opal's attention then drifted downward. There, she found a certain familiar farm boy dragging his battered body across the floor to escape the endless onslaught behind him. Oscar's olive coat was battered, his partially exposed forearm bruised – his aura had obviously been broken.

"Ouch," Jaune cringed. "Seen better days there, Oscar?"

"Something like that…" Oscar trailed off, grunting when he finally decided to heave himself into a sitting position beside JNPR's leader. "Ozpin's muscle memory might slowly become mine over time, but that doesn't mean it's perfect. It might've been a smart decision for me not to have challenged Aurora to a sparring match."

"Not when this simulated battleground generates more than enough pillars and other constructs that're perfect for her combat style, that's for sure," Opal elaborated. "Give it time. You'll reach the level of licensed Huntsman eventually, Oscar. You just have to be patient."

Oscar tentatively touched his bruised arm, only to immediately wince. "Yeah… somehow I doubt that'll ever happen, though."

Ren gave him a quizzical look. "How'd you reach that conclusion?"

"Think about it," Oscar began, glancing between the three licensed fighters. "JNPR? RWBY? Iridescence? Everyone else is constantly evolving through their training, are getting upgrades, or are exploring their semblances in crazy new ways, while I haven't even discovered mine yet."

"Don't worry about too hard though," Opal advised. "Oscar, you're not even the same age as I was when I discovered my semblance yet. There are some people out in the world who fight for their lives on the daily and have never discovered their semblances, so don't think that you're a liability because you don't know what yours is yet. Besides… what would you even do if you did discover it right now? Run right into the next big battle just because?"

Oscar's tension dissipated. "No… I guess not."

"Besides, you're forgetting something pretty major," Opal mentioned. "With Ozpin's magic, you might become one of the most powerful fighters on Remnant someday because you're one of the only people besides the Maidens that can actually use it."

"Yeah, but haven't you already won against the Fall Maiden, before?" Oscar countered.

"Not really." Opal shrugged. "Contrary to popular belief, my track record fighting against Maidens isn't all that great. Cinder nearly killed me when we first fought, and the only reason she died the second time was because she didn't pay enough attention to her surroundings to notice the rockfall that crushed her. That win was sheer luck."

"If you say so," Oscar conceded.

"Hey, guys," Jaune intruded. "It looks like we have company."

Everyone else's eyes followed Jaune's line of sight toward the only entrance into the combat simulator. Its impressively large, rectangular metal doors had unsealed themselves to reveal that both Ironwood and Qrow had recently entered the room. The various in-progress matches around the simulator began boiling down in curious recognition of the pair's arrival, though among the contemplative quartet, it was Opal who started approaching the general first. Ironwood nodded an acknowledgment at her, but his approving gaze lingered mostly on the fighters who'd ended their matches early to offer him their attention.

"It looks like Qrow really wasn't exaggerating," Ironwood noted. "Everyone here's really been giving it their all, huh?"

"Well, we have to with the way things are going," Ruby explained.

Ironwood's briefly peaceful expression faded, replaced with the typical half-suppressed stressed look everyone had become familiar with coming from him. He pulled out his scroll, which then projected a screen that depicted the live results. "They aren't going well, are they? Robyn's currently obtained seventy percent of the people's votes, while Jacque's been left behind with only thirty. Not ideal."

"Is there any ideal situation here, though?" Yang countered with a casual shrug. "Better Robyn win the election than Jacque Schnee."

"Oh, I suppose so," Ironwood meandered. "Either way, this election doesn't exactly bode well for our operation's stability."

Ruby hummed. "But if things turn out like everyone's been expecting, this could be a chance to work with Robyn, right? You could get Mantle back on your side."

"Counterpoint." Ironwood deactivated his scroll and returned it to his pocket. "Among the many reasons for Iridescence's importance being continually elevated over time, their mere existence serves to accomplish that same task – albeit in a somewhat roundabout way."

"That doesn't mean she isn't right," Nora argued. "You can use your original plan and still do something about Mantle without sabotaging yourself. If you could just get Robyn to trust you…"

"I bet that if you opened up to her, she'd understand that you're being framed," Jaune offered.

"Jaune… I can't imagine that such a plan would work out in our favor," Pyrrha cautiously countered, her hand now placed on his shoulder. "Robyn hasn't proven herself to be the most cooperative sort, if Opal's previous encounter with her was any indicator."

"True," Ironwood noted. "But any actions we could take would logically require that she remain trustworthy and open with us, as well. Her track record doesn't convince me that she's either of those things."

Opal nodded. "There's no telling with her, that's for sure."

Ren successfully changed the topic of conversation before Nora could pursue it any further. "I take it you're here for new mission assignments?"

"You could say that," Qrow said. "We both want you to quit your training, for now. Spend the rest of today recuperating from all the action you've all seen lately."

Blake's brow furrowed. "You're… giving us a night off?"

"Ordering it," Ironwood confirmed. "After tonight's election, we'll be waking up to an entirely different political landscape than what we've been dealing with so far. It's therefore all the more important that you're all rested and ready for whatever the future may bring."

"Oh, then in that case…" Jaune smiled mischievously. "Pyrrha! Oscar! Weiss!"

"Yes?"

"Yeah?"

"Wait, what?"

Jaune pumped his fists at his sides. "Wanna head out and see a movie?"

Pyrrha's expression brightened, and she nodded. "Of course."

"If you're talking about the movie we were talking about before, I'm in too," Oscar added.

"Alright…" Weiss trailed off. "Jaune, why'd you invite me, though?"

"Because tonight's when the biggest anti-megacorporation book out there's finally getting its movie adaptation on the big screen!" Jaune exclaimed. "Just sorta figured that you'd be into that thing, but if-"

"Say no more," Weiss interrupted. "I'm in."

"Awesome! Anyone else wanna come?" Jaune asked, his gaze landing on a certain busty blonde.

"Ehh…" Yang trailed off, halfheartedly dismissing his invitation with a wave. "Y'know, that sounds great and all, but Team FNKI already invited Blake and I to some popular dance club downtown."

Jaune hid his surprise. "You guys dance?"

"There's a first time for everything," Blake said.

"No arguments there." Jaune scanned his gaze around the room. "What about you, Ruby?"

While Ruby proceeded to defended herself against Jaune's invitation, Opal's interest transitioned away from the two team leaders' conversation. It appeared as though the remaining members of Iridescence suffered a similar decay to their interest in Jaune's invitation, which led Tenebris to spark an isolated conversation of their own. One momentarily thoughtful expression that then morphed into one of inspiration immediately convinced Opal that he'd come up with several different ways that they could spend their night off.

"Okay big guy, we all know that look," Aurora started. "What're your ideas?"

"Where to start?" Tenebris began. "There's dozens of restaurants across the kingdom that I've been meaning to try, there's local museums here in the upper city, we could even-"

"That's just the thing," Ironwood calmly interrupted. "While it's unfortunate that we have to burst your bubble… Iridescence's situation is unique. Given your team's status and increasing importance to the kingdom, I'm afraid that you'll still have a mission assignment for tonight."

Qrow stepped forward. "It isn't ideal, but don't worry about being thrown into another high-risk, high-stress situation right before election night's over. Both James and I agreed that we'll throw you guys an easy mission. It won't be a night off, but it'll be close enough."

"Alright," Lux stated, leaning on his quarterstaff. "What's the mission, then?"

"Despite my many grievances toward Robyn, Iridescence is being deployed into Mantle to act as bodyguards alongside her Happy Huntresses," Ironwood revealed. "Regardless of the arrogant mindset that's guided her to arrange her preemptive victory party in the lower city, plenty of her supporters will be in attendance. Your presence there will hopefully be perceived as a gesture of good faith by both Robyn and those among her supporters that might harbor any lingering suspicions about your team's relationship with the military."

Opal sighed. "The fight for public relations is never-ending, huh?"

"Something like that," Ironwood agreed. "On the bright side, this should probably be the easiest job Team Iridescence has ever been given. Between Robyn's Happy Huntresses already being in attendance as her preexisting bodyguards and the high probability of her victory this election, it's doubtful that Iridescence will even see any action tonight. My only request is that you maintain your professionalism and avoid making any rash decisions that'll reflect on us politically."

"We'll get it done, sir," Opal asserted. "Guaranteed."

'Now to pray that Robyn's cooperative…'

Shortly after sundown, Iridescence descended back down to the streets of Mantle. Neon signs of varying colors broke up the perpetual orange glows spawned by the lower city's dust-powered environmental heating system, while brown brick buildings of varying sizes ruled the skyline among the ground-based sprawl. Through both their somewhat uniformly dark outfits and their reputation among the people, Iridescence therefore fit right in – but their presence walking through the city went far from unnoticed. Dozens of individuals from a noticeable range of obvious economic backgrounds quietly fawned over the elite team of Huntsmen, with many even taking pictures of Iridescence as they passed by. Given that they were still technically on-duty even while they were merely approaching the site of their next mission, however, Iridescence's members kept their eyes focused on either themselves or the road ahead.

"Hey guys?" Lux started. "I've been thinking."

"Yeah?" Opal responded. "About what?"

"About the whole situation with…" Lux glanced at another homeless civilian on the other side of the road, and hesitated. "With her. Everyone's been so concerned about how Ironwood's gonna react when he learns the truth, about his big plan once the you-know-what is finished, but have we ever stopped to consider what our end goal might be?"

"Well, shit…" Tenebris muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Not really. With everything that's on our plates these days, it's kinda easy to forget that there's still literally no plan."

"Jinn said that you-know-who couldn't be beaten," Aurora added.

"She said that Ozma couldn't destroy her," Opal corrected. "It's important that we don't forget the role Jinn plays in all this. Aurora, you remember the fairy tale that included some ethereal spirits like Jinn, right?"

"Yeah, they were called djinns," Aurora confirmed. "What about them?"

"That same fairy tale described djinns as tricksters, always silver-tongued and wise enough with their words that they could mislead those who asked for their knowledge without directly lying about what they said," Opal elaborated. "Jinn's exact wording could be an issue here – and that's ignoring the fact that it was Ozma who asked how he could destroy you-know-who."

"Ozma did love her, once upon a time…" Aurora recalled.

Lux hummed. "So, what you're saying is that Jinn really was being specific with the answer she gave. When she said, 'you can't' in response to 'how I destroy you-know-who,' she really meant that Oz could never bring himself to make that choice."

"He sure seemed determined to destroy her when he tried leaving their kingdom," Tenebris countered. "Unless he didn't really throw his heart into that fight."

"Or he didn't have the means to win back then even if he wanted to," Lux responded. "There's still a ton we don't know about the three other you-know-whats we haven't seen yet, and even more that we don't know about you-know-who, too."

"Then why don't we just, you know…" Tenebris lowered his voice. "Ask Jinn for answers?"

"We can't afford to risk wasting our last question for nothing," Opal softly returned. "For now, we can shelf that option. If we can't come up with any better ideas over time and there's still no obvious solution to the her issue, we'll come up with a question then."

Tenebris nodded. "Sounds good."

Lux copied his brother. "It's better than having no plan."

Aurora stepped closer, giving Opal's shoulder a firm squeeze to convey her approval. Between the two clan heiresses, there were times that words weren't necessary for them to reaffirm their trust in one another – this was one such time. Opal smiled inwardly when her best friend's hand fell from her shoulder, momentarily forgetting that they'd nearly arrived outside the warehouse that Robyn had rented for her victory party before an unexpected voice returned her focus firmly back to reality.

"See, Ren? I told you we wouldn't miss them!" Nora exclaimed.

"That's still somewhat of a miracle, considering the distance between here and the nearest ice cream shop," Ren countered. "Though I won't deny that their selection of both flavors and toppings were rather impressive."

Ruby emerged from behind both of them. "Hey, guys! Funny meeting you all here, huh?"

"Kind of?" Opal's brow furrowed, befuddled by their abrupt appearance. "Given that Iridescence was specifically deployed here, it's no surprise that you stumbled across us where we're supposed to be, but… what are you doing here? Ironwood gave you three the night off, right?"

"Totally!" Nora threw the bottom of the empty ice cream cone she'd been holding into the air before catching it in her mouth. "But…"

"We thought it'd be a good idea to come here!" Ruby explained. "Ironwood might not like her too much, but we thought we'd show Robyn some support before the election's over! That, and we wanted to maybe keep you guys company if you ever got bored with guard duty."

"Besides, while the nearest ice cream shop isn't nearby, nor is it inordinately far from this location either," Ren added.

Aurora's eyes narrowed. "You stopped to get ice cream… on Solitas."

Nora hopped onto Ren's back, draping her arms over his shoulders. "It's date night!"

"We decided that we'd much rather prefer a simpler excursion into the lower city to spend our spare time together rather than an elaborate dinner in Atlas," Ren elaborated, gently grasping one of her wrists to assure his partner wouldn't fall. "Not that we've ever desired to attend the numerous, excessively extravagant venues that any kingdom offers, anyway. Given Ruby's disinterest in both cinema and dancing, we invited her along on this brief excursion."

"Thanks again for doing that," Ruby said.

"No problem!" Nora claimed, and she tapped Ren's cheek. When he released his grip on her arm, Nora practically bounced off the ground and entered an eager march into warehouse beside them. "Now let's go! Time's a-wasting!"

Ren immediately trailed after her, while Ruby lingered behind just long enough for their friends to disappear inside before she too followed after them, providing a brief wave goodbye to Iridescence as she did so. Opal shook her head amusedly.

"They might make the oddest couple out of everyone we know, but you can't deny that they have chemistry," Opal thought aloud. She then twisted her neck to glance back at her team. "But now that they're inside… everyone ready?"

Her teammates provided nonverbal nods of confirmation.

"Once people at the victory party see us, we're officially on the clock." Opal returned her eyes straight ahead and approached the door. "Now let's look alive, Iridescence."

Everything about the victory party's atmosphere contrasted against Mantle's own like night and day. Whereas the lower city remained rife with an underlying tension and general unease unlike anything Iridescence had witnessed thus far on their worldwide travels, the victory party was ten times as vibrant as anything they'd witnessed so far in Mantle. Colorful balloons, streamers, and various beverages decorated the walls and tables pressed up against the warehouse's walls, the scent of fresh-cooked food wafted through the air, and smiles abounded among the dozens – if not hundreds – of individuals in attendance. That lattermost feature of the environment became increasingly common after Iridescence made their entrance, with the smiles of the few faunus who'd managed to escape their mining shifts early shining brighter than the venue's industrial lights overhead. Despite her opinions of Robyn Hill herself, Opal couldn't deny that the woman treated her followers well.

Given their mission assignment from Ironwood himself, Opal didn't allow Iridescence to dawdle around to breathe in the atmosphere for long. Shortly after spotting the stage that'd serve as the platform for Robyn's anticipated victory speech at the back of the warehouse, Iridescence set out toward where their VIP would be located. Opal briefly glanced at the massive screen above the stage – Jacque's support had steadily climbed to thirty-seven percent of Mantle's votes, while his opponent remained firmly in the lead with sixty-three.

Iridescence had nearly made it backstage when an armed individual blocked their path. The individual in question was a fair-skinned woman with medium-length dark blue hair and yellow eyes. Her dusty brown coat was adorned with the same signature brooch Fiona had decorated her outfit with, and her hand remained gripped tightly around the shaft of her crossbow-staff. Opal became the subject of her scrutinizing gaze from her position atop the few steps that would've led her backstage.

"What're you four doing here?" she demanded.

"May Marigold." Opal bowed her head briefly before answering. "General Ironwood sent us here as additional security in case anything goes awry. Consider it a gesture of good faith from the general to Robyn, that despite our differences, we don't wish her to suffer any harm."

"Oh, funny," May mocked, rolling her eyes. "Ironwood's already forgotten that the Happy Huntresses were some of his top graduates, huh? Well guess what? If you're here just to provide backup that we don't need, you can feel free to take a hike. You're not welcome here."

"With all due respect, our mission is outside your jurisdiction to control," Opal asserted. "Don't make this situation any more difficult than you already have."

"Is that a threat?" May growled.

"May, what's going on over here…?" Robyn stopped short almost immediately after emerging from further backstage, and an amused smirk crossed her lips. "Oh. It's you."

"Hello, Robyn," Opal greeted.

"Hey there, fuzzy ears," Robyn returned.

"Cute name scheme," Lux sarcastically complimented. "Where'd ya come up with it, some third-rate thrift shop?"

Robyn chuckled, but otherwise ignored the verbal jab. "So, fuzzy ears, mind telling me what brings the illustrious Team Iridescence down to the lower city? Oh, wait, don't tell me – Ironwood's about to commit political suicide and have you try to arrest me."

"Not in the slightest," Opal calmly reassured. "Given the recent string of dangerous back-alley activity that's been going on lately, General Ironwood's only concerned about the security of your victory party. He doesn't want any surprises tonight."

Joanna, the titanic brute among the Happy Huntresses emerged from near Fiona atop the stage to instead appear at her leader's side. Robyn stared unreadably into Opal's eyes for a few seconds longer before responding. "Fine. On the condition that you four stay out of my way, you're allowed to help security."

"Robyn?" Joanna questioned. "They're Ironwood's elite hit squad, and you're accepting their presence here? What, do you think May, Fiona, and I-"

"I don't underestimate your ability to protect me, Joanna," Robyn interrupted. "But we can't afford to turn them away. If I get elected tonight, we'll all have to get along. Besides… extra security can't hurt when there's this many people all gathered in one place. Win or lose, election nights aren't exactly known for being entirely civil occasions."

"That's the only reason we're here," Opal elaborated. "Jacque's victory party is nonexistent since he's isolated himself in his manor, which leaves you as the only other dominant political candidate whose followers might need protection. Aurora, Tenebris – head upstairs onto the catwalks on the perimeter of the warehouse. You're on guard duty."

"Lovely," Tenebris deadpanned. "My favorite activity…"

"At least we'll have a good view of the party," Aurora consoled.

While the pair set off toward the short flight of stairs a short distance back the way they'd come, May threw Opal an unmistakably dirty look. She followed after Tenebris shortly thereafter, while Joanna seemed content to let Robyn's word rule and descended from the stage to rejoin the greater festivities. Robyn was therefore left with only Opal and Lux as her present company, given the fact that Fiona was still busy making some last-minute adjustments to what was likely their only microphone.

"Just so you know, Robyn, General Ironwood wouldn't have many complaints if you did win this election." Opal provided Lux a nod while she spoke, and they followed Robyn backstage when she eventually turned around. "We won't have any problems with your future political actions as long as you stay within the law."

Now that they were hidden by the stage's furled-back curtain, Robyn finally faced them once again. "The law isn't perfect, you know. It's certainly not equal.

"Trust me, I'm well-aware. Malachite Clan, remember?" Opal reminded, gesturing to the peacock emblem over her heart for emphasis.

Robyn's eyebrows raised. "What, being born into an extremely upper-class family didn't cushion you from all the racism back home?"

Opal shook her head. "Nope. Especially not when my clan's an extremely rare example of one that openly includes faunus and humans among its ranks, that's for sure."

"Hmph." Robyn rolled her eyes. "Listen, if you're gonna play the sympathy card, lemme throw one of mine right back. Wanna know my goal? My only goal is that all the citizens of Mantle and Atlas, faunus especially, have an equal amount of opportunity to pursue their prosperity."

"That sounds great!" Lux praised. "And you're planning to create all that equality legally, right?"

Robyn crossed her arms confidently. "Everything I've done is legal."

Opal smirked. "Of course. Without fail."

Before the trio's passive-aggressive exchanged could progress any further, Fiona's fruitless fiddling with the party's microphone finally paid off. One last drum of her fingers against the device's cap caused harsh feedback to squeal into everyone's ears, though Fiona and Opal certainly suffered the worst of it. Nevertheless, Fiona turned the mistake to her advantage with a somewhat endearing chuckle.

"Well then…" Fiona smiled. "That worked, huh?"

Seemingly content to offer her loyal follower more attention that Ironwood's intrusive bodyguards, Robyn turned her back to the pair. The crowd laughed warmheartedly at Fiona's minor mishap, and Opal and Lux stepped somewhat closer toward their VIP before those same laughs evolved into passionate chants of Robyn's name. Overhead, the polls' tally changed once again – Jacque had officially acquired forty-one percent of the votes, while Robyn's lead had shrunk significantly down to fifty-nine percent. Only time would tell if that gap would only continue to shrink in the final few minutes of the election.

"Alright! With the polls closing soon, I'd like to thank everyone here for voting today!" Fiona happily exclaimed, an energetic bounce punctuating her statement. "I know that, like me, you're all thrilled that we chose Robyn as our voice in Atlas! Over the past few years, no one has fought harder for Mantle than she has, and…" she wiped a tear from her eye. "I know that Robyn will continue that fight on the council. I think that we can all agree that she has the charisma, heart, and headstrong attitude that our city's so desperately needed these days. Robyn – will you share a few words?"

With that simple request, the crowd's chants grew threefold in intensity. Fiona looked backstage to Robyn, an optimistic smile on her face that completely eliminated any doubt of the sheep faunus' dedication to her leader's cause. It wasn't long before Robyn accepted her follower's offer, starting onto the main stage and exchanging some excited words with Fiona before she handed the microphone into her hand.

"I've never been much for public speaking," Robyn began, deftly hiding her nerves away behind the charm of her public persona. "Probably wasn't my best idea ever to enter the world of politics, but here we stand. Whatever happens next, Mantle's on the precipice of a new era in its history – one that's hopefully far more kind to its wellbeing than recent times have been. Before the polls shut down, I'd like to thank everyone so much, for choosing me. Countless times, I've heard that you believe in me, but I'm the one who believes in all of you. You've proven to me that as individuals, we are strong. But together, we're unstoppable!"

Robyn's confidence grew with her voters' cheers. "So no matter what happens tonight, win or lose, we will continue to fight for our city, because it's this city that brings us together. When we all stand united, there's nothing that we can't accomplish. Now, let's look forward to our future, one where Mantle stands united against all opposition! Do you hear me!?"

"Yeahhh!"

Dozens upon dozens of exclamations of approval rolled forward like an unyielding wave against the seashore. Opal felt herself wince as her ears briefly flattened against her skull in protest, but quickly adjusted to the warehouse's newfound level of volume. Fiona giddily bounced back to her leader's side and spoke hurried words Opal couldn't quite discern, though Robyn's attention remained split between her follower and the screen overhead. Now, her lead was but a minuscule fifty-three percent.

'This is definitely an unexpectedly close election, that's for sure…'

Slowly, the indecipherable cacophony of noise that stemmed from the crowd subsided into something far more comprehensible. Cheers turned into a forty-five-second countdown in anticipation of the polls' closing, though Opal's disregarded it almost entirely. Another noise landed distinctly in her feline ears, and her brow furrowed deeply as she speculated what its source could've been.

"Hey, Opal," Lux began. "What's up? Did you hear something?"

"Yeah…it sounded like metallic plates brushing against each other," Opal explained, scanning the various forms strewn about the crowd. "Almost like a prosthetic tail."

Lux unlatched his weapon from its leather strap and swiftly converted it into its musket configuration. With Wiz held against his chest, his eagle eyes fell upon the victory party's not insignificant number of attendees. "Okay. I'll keep an eye out."

Even reassured by her partner's watchful eye now being factored into play, Opal felt herself tense. Her ears involuntarily flicked in recognition of an eerily familiar snicker nearby, and her hands latched onto their action-ready positions around her weapon not a moment later. Glancing around the warehouse, she did a headcount.

Ren, Nora, and Ruby were all making idle conversation near the front door. Tenebris and Aurora were on opposite ends of the second-floor catwalks that lined the walls of the victory party's venue. May had just recently rejoined Joanna in mingling with the event's partygoers, while Robyn and Fiona had evidently decided to stay on-stage until the countdown was complete.

'No one here would've laughed like that. Who would've-'

Lux's breath hitched. "Tyrian."

All industrial lights in the warehouse went dead. Mummers of confusion flickered through the crowd among the humans whose eyes had effectively been blinded. Out of everyone across the warehouse, Opal and Lux's eyes adjusted first – but it was too late.

An unmistakably feminine scream pierced through the air, followed by the stomach-churning sound of blood splattering across the floor. Shocked, panicked cries spread through the crowd like wildfire alongside an increasing number of agonized screams and last breaths. Down on the ground floor, kicking, slicing, and stabbing with his prosthetic stinger through droves of innocent civilians, there he was. Tyrian Callows.

"Lux! We're intercepting Tyrian!" Opal commanded. Raising her voice, she shouted up toward the catwalk. "Tenebris, Aurora! Secure Robyn immediately!"

"Right!" Tenebris confirmed.

'Good.'

Opal didn't even glance at her partner before she dove directly into the fray. While Tyrian's leg sweeping another pair of unaware civilians' legs out from under them left his back exposed, Opal unsheathed her katana into a broad slash against his vulnerable skin. Tyrian's reaction time saved his aura from suffering a needless strike just in time though, and with his palms pressed against the ground, he backflipped away from Opal's effective range.

Tyrian didn't waste another instant before his massacre continued. The moment the murderer landed, his metallic stinger mercilessly impaled another nearby faunus too petrified by fear to flee in time, and an unsettling chuckle rumbled from his throat again – yet he wouldn't be given another second to ignore his newfound adversaries any longer.

An unexpectedly swift rifle round being blocked by Tyrian raising his wrist blades preceded Lux throwing himself into the fight. Wiz transformed from its musket mode into its quarterstaff configuration, and Lux worked with the momentum his semblance provided him to initiate an augmented jab. Before the tip of the weapon could successfully connect with his sternum, Tyrian twisted his weapons to perfectly catch the attack between them, and his tail deposited his latest victim lifelessly onto the floor before launching itself toward Lux while he remained in midair.

Flawlessly executed though that counter had been, Opal's semblance-augmented speed proved itself as superior. In less than the blink of an eye, she'd kicked off the ground with one foot and pooled the strength of her semblance into the other, and the assassin's stinger was sent off harmlessly to the side. Almost appearing eager to continue both their fight and his slaughter, Tyrian retreated a short distance with a roll backward that offered him room to reengage, though he didn't waste the opportunity to sever the legs of several civilians along the way. Fresh blood spewed across his face, and his trademark manic grin spread across his lips.

For the briefest of moments, Opal's eyes met his. Encapsulated in Tyrian's eyes was nothing short of uninhibited glee at his actions, and righteous fire broiled into existence within Opal's stomach. With her dedication to the destruction of whatever plot Tyrian was participating in now renewed, Opal sheathed her katana in preparation of another iaijutsu-inspired slash, while Tyrian himself cackled madly as they ran straight at one another. Tyrian thrust his wrist blades forward, Opal amplified her arm's strength with her semblance to deliver an energetic slash-

And metal clanged against metal as their attacks completely countered one another. Tyrian's wrist blades caught his opponent's katana, while Opal's upward slash remained frozen in their impromptu bind. Fortunately for her, Opal's attack retained enough of its initial strength that the scorpion faunus was forced to dedicate his strength to his defense, lest he allow her katana to rake across his chest unimpeded. They were deadlocked.

"You know, for the woman whose hand brought Arach Nid's life to an end, you're suitably impressive!" Tyrian complimented. "Though I'm afraid that I can't stick around and play forever. There's still much to do, after all!"

"There are eleven licensed Huntsmen in this place," Opal countered. "You're insane if you think you aren't leaving this place in our custody."

"Oh, and what's wrong with a little insanity, hm?" Tyrian cooed.

Opal didn't have the chance to respond, after that. Tyrian pushed himself ever further backward and away from his adversary's katana, and the writhing mass of panicked bodies obscured his form in the split second that Opal required to sheath her weapon again. Unexpectedly, no more screams of slaughtered civilians assailed her ears, though the instant of clear thought that the lack of horrific noise provided her proved extremely unsettling.

In the traumatic sort of situation that this victory party had become, there wasn't any way to tell what faunus partygoers would remember any specifics clearly, and that was if they'd even seen the culprit of the massacre to begin with. Someone had to take the fall, which meant that the only question that remained was who?

"I don't like this," Lux noted, instinctively pressing up against his partner's back. "Tyrian might be the single craziest rat bastard we've ever faced, but disappearing on us completely? He's gotta have some other plans."

"Lux." Opal's eyes widened. "Where's Robyn?"

"Oh, shit."

They whirled around, their eyes immediately darting upward as their peripheral vision detected movement elsewhere. Tyrian danced among the rafters, hopping from wooden support to support on a path that'd take him directly to the stage, where Robyn remained vulnerable. Opal quickly reasoned Tenebris and Aurora's lack of presence there being because of the plentiful panicked citizens who must've been blocking their paths; that, and their human eyes. Both Lux and Opal shared a mutual nod that signified they were on the same page. They had to intercept Tyrian.

An instant before she would've thrown herself at the assassin, an unexpected bear faunus stumbled directly into Opal's side. Without the necessary room to utilize his semblance again without violently throwing civilians aside nor risk additional casualties with another shot from his musket, so too was Lux essentially stopped dead in his tracks. Through sheer dumb luck, their efforts to interfere with Tyrian's assault were momentarily thwarted.

Tyrian eagerly took advantage of the opportunity, leaving his temporarily incapacitated foes helpless but to watch as he transformed into an unstoppable onslaught of motion. Wordlessly, he pushed himself toward the stage with his wrist blades extended at his sides like wings. Given her faunus vision, Fiona was the only opponent standing between him and Robyn, who remained helplessly fumbling amidst the darkness, and made her choice.

Fiona only barely pushed her leader to safety in time to ready her weapon again, while Tyrian rolled to break his landing where Robyn had once been. Fiona then attempted to stab forward with her weapon, only for Tyrian's tail to deflect the attack harmlessly into the floorboards below. While the sheep faunus desperately attempted to wretch it free, Tyrian lunged for her stomach. His suddenly glowing purple hand lashed out, tearing through her aura as though it were paper before his other wrist blade was sent deep into her stomach. Fiona shrieked when her assailant wretched his weapon free, only to immediately be knocked unconscious when Tyrian's knee flew straight into her forehead.

Opal didn't think twice before shouting her next command.

"Lux, call backup! I'm headed up there!"

"Will do! Don't die!"

Another split-second use of her semblance's strength let her leap into the rafters. Opal glanced down at the stage again from her newfound perch, only to find Tyrian taking an almost leisurely amount of time standing back up. He stretched his back, rolled his neck, and slowly made sure that his self-satisfied gaze met his old quarry's perfectly before tilting his head over toward where Robyn was finally stumbling back onto her feet. Within that gesture laid the simple challenge – who between them was faster?

Neither fighter hesitated before they sprang back into action. Tyrian cackled quietly to himself while sprinting for Robyn, while Opal once again rationed her semblance's strength into her legs and hurled herself to meet him halfway. With her sword already unsheathed and positioned for an overhead slice, what happened over the next few seconds made her realize she'd played right into Tyrian's hands.

His metallic stinger stretched out faster than either both its owner and opponent, gently hooking around Robyn just barely long enough to yank her directly into Opal's path. Her heart skipping a beat, Opal maneuvered her katana in time to avoid slicing into Robyn's shoulder, but adjusting her body's angle midair was another story entirely. They both grunted in discomfort as Opal crashed directly into Robyn's side, though her katana being stabbed into the floorboards stopped them from skidding along the stage too far.

Opal immediately looked around in search of her opponent, only to find herself unable to locate the scorpion faunus anywhere in the warehouse. She didn't even have time to think about where exactly she'd stabbed her katana before Tyrian's voice miraculously whispered into her ears.

"Masterfully done…"

When Opal then glanced back down, her stomach sank. 'Someone had to take the fall…'

Industrial lights abruptly illuminated the warehouse once again, providing every single civilian and bodyguard across the entire expanse an uncomfortably clear look at the carnage… and a katana buried suspiciously near the head of Mantle's hometown hero.

Opal's mouth failed to form words when Robyn's furious eyes met hers, but the latter didn't hesitate to act. Robyn's wrist-mounted weapon expanded into a bird-shaped fan, and she shouted furiously as she attempted to slice through Opal's throat, only to meet empty air as her assumed assassin successfully rolled away alongside her weapon. They both flipped back onto their feet, though whereas Opal sheathed her katana, Robyn raised her crossbow threateningly. With only the briefest of glances thrown over her shoulder informing her of Fiona's condition, Robyn's anger boiled over, and she bared her teeth like fangs.

"Joanna! May!" Robyn boomed.

Perhaps influenced by concern for her friend, Robyn released a disgusted noise from her throat before almost immediately dashing over to her fallen follower. Completely stunned, Opal could only watch as the Huntress ignored her entirely to press her hands against Fiona's open wound. Only when the distinct click of another nearby weapon's safety being switched off hit her ears did Opal finally regain awareness of her surroundings. More specifically…

She became aware the fact May had already launched an angry arrow at her skull – one already too close for its target to dodge nor deflect. Yet it'd never meet its mark.

Right as it passed the threshold of the stage, an unanticipated blur of blue-tinted metal armor rolled into its path. From the armored figure's back came a cable that caught the arrow mere inches away from its wielder's face. Aurora wordlessly rose back onto her feet and deflected another arrow with her naginata when May continued her offensive.

Joanna's approach to the situation proved much more brutal. Her face twisted in unbridled rage; she hurled her crossbow-staff through the air at Opal as though it were a paperweight. Tenebris leaped onto the stage from the catwalk overhead and caught Joanna's weapon with only minimal effort. Neither Opal, Aurora, nor Tenebris himself bothered to pay attention to Joanna's reaction.

Confused, chaotic activity rippled through the crowd once again as the horrific scene around the warehouse started sinking in. Utilizing their numbers advantage, Joanna and May rushed toward what they might've assumed was an unaware Lux – who then simultaneously knocked them both back with a well-timed whirlwind that also brought him to his teammates' side. A cacophony of cries from among the slaughter's survivors slowly manifested through the warehouse.

"What… what's going on!?"

"Oh gods, no! Mica!"

"Who did this!?"

"Was that… Opal Malachite!?"

"No! No way! They're on our side!"

"They were supposed to be! Why!? Why's Ironwood doing this to us!?"

Lux extended an arm protectively behind him, shaking his head. "Everyone. We can't stay here."

"Robyn," Opal began, slowly backing away. "This wasn't Iridescence, I swear."

"Get out of here!" Robyn shouted. "Before I come over there and gut you all myself!"

Sufficiently discouraged from making any more reassurances, Opal offered her teammates only a nod before they all turned around. When they hastily started making their way in the direction of the nearby emergency exit, Ren, Nora, and Ruby caught up with the elite quartet, their eyes wide with shock not dissimilarly to the civilians they'd just escaped.

"What happened!?" Nora exclaimed.

"We couldn't see anything when the lights went off!" Ruby continued. "Then there was the screaming and the fighting, we-"

Opal growled frustratedly, cutting her off. "It was Tyrian! Tyrian's here! Lux and I tried to fight him back, but we just played right into his hands! Before anything else, we need to regroup with the reinforcements Lux called in – we can figure things out from there!"

"R-right!" Ruby agreed.

Their entire group exploded out from within the warehouse at that point, emerging into an alleyway lit only by the excess light that bled into it from Mantle itself. Opal didn't even have time to breathe before a nearby newscaster's voice emanated from one of Mantle's innumerable public broadcasting screens just outside their temporary refuge.

"A surprise victory by SDC Mining Corporation's CEO, Jacque Schnee! Last-minute voter turnout produced a dark horse victory for the Dust industry leader, and…"

Lux tensed beside her. "He won?"

"Seems like it," Tenebris confirmed, walking toward the edge of the alleyway. "Look."

Once his allies had followed after him, they were greeted with the image of Jacque's face projected over the giant screen that dominated the side of a nearby office building. It wouldn't have been an exaggeration to proclaim that everyone's spirits somehow fell even deeper into despair with that simple sight. They wouldn't be given much time to process this revelation before other events demanded their attention.

The fireball of an uncontrolled fire dust explosion blossomed into a mushroom cloud off in the distance, sending an uncomfortably warm shockwave billowing through the gathered fighters' hair. One demonic roar preceded the arrival of several Manticores and three Sphinx flying above the city by only seconds. Sabyrs could be spotted dashing through the streets near Iridescence's position, and even a Beringel leaped from around one corner before beginning to climb the same office building Jacque's face had been projected upon.

Then the screams of countless civilians suddenly filled the city.

Aurora looked to their leader. Her concerned expression was impossible to hide, though she did force her emotions aside long enough to open her mouth without her emotions bleeding into her voice. "What're our orders, Opal?"

Ren unholstered his weapons. "You make the call. We'll follow you."

"Then in that case…" Opal pulled her katana partway from its sheath. "We defend Mantle with everything we have. Whatever results from Iridescence being framed for Tyrian's slaughter will have to wait. Right now… we have people to protect."

Ruby sighed. "It's gonna be a long night, huh?"

"Welcome to another day in the life of Iridescence," Lux mirthlessly joked.

When the kingdom's valiant defenders dashed out from their alleyway back onto the streets of Mantle, several Manticores threw themselves down from the skies to become the fighters' first adversaries. Their weapons unsheathed, explosions, blades, bullets, and impassioned shouts became the somber song that would accompany their overnight efforts to restore peace. Jacque's victory speech played out from all angles, seemingly taunting them even with the single sentence anyone bothered to pay attention to.

"As the newest member of our great kingdom's council, I fully pledge to serve each and every citizen of Mantle and Atlas!"

Authors Note: It might be obvious given the pseudo-canon ending of this chapter, but I dunno if I'm going to cover the Rioting 2.0 of this little sequence of events. Although it'd be fun and Iridescence have their lovely combat dynamic that's always interesting to think through on my end, my thought process is as such – ToTI has existed in the shadow of canon for a while, this is nothing new. Only around this volume have things drastically changed since I finally made the fic third-person, but the faster this volume ends, the faster this fic can take on its own approach to RWBY moving forward. I'll still wait until V8 comes out to continue my own rendition, but that'll more be to simply see if there are any ideas worth aping. I have my own plans for a great deal of stuff from here on out – all I need is names and appearances from canon to make 'em work.

In other news, cutesy character interactions (and lewd ones, in Opal's case) and plot progression abounds, and Ironwood ain't gonna be a happy camper next time, as one would probably expect. Iridescence has been framed, Robyn's probably gonna still be her canon-ish standoffish self, and the domino effect on both Ironwood's reputation and any actions the rest of the good guy alliance's members take will slowly begin to take shape. Then the real domino effect comes into play later on.