Laurel felt… Well, she didn't know what she felt. Anger? Embarrassment? Betrayal? He said it had been a misunderstanding—that he'd been drunk, that he thought it had been her—but that didn't make it okay. She couldn't imagine it ever being okay. By someone else's standards, he probably hadn't done anything wrong, at least so far as nothing was actually done. It had exposed a side of him that she'd never seen before, however, and it frightened her. So, she broke up with him.

What else is a woman supposed to do when her boyfriend tries to push himself on her twin sister?

Laurel sat reclined in her chair, eyes unfocused and fingers resting idly against her chin. Her scroll sat propped up on her desk in preparation for the tournament. The one-on-one fights wouldn't start for a few minutes, so she had no problem leaving it muted until then. The problem with that, though, was that she was left alone with her thoughts, and lately her thoughts had been on the past.

A light knock on the door brought her out of her trance. Rising from her seat with an exhale, she padded across the room and opened the door. She was unsurprised to see it was Oliver on the other side. "I'd been wondering where you were," he said, giving her a weak smile.

Laurel stepped back to let him in, scratching her hairline. "Yeah, it's just…" She waved her hand exasperatedly. "After all those stupid administrative meetings today, I don't really want to be around people for a while."

Oliver's lips drew into a tight line as he closed the door behind him, head dipping down. "Right." Laurel walked back to her chair and dropped herself into it again. Following slowly after her, Oliver glanced toward her desk. "Having a drink?" he asked, gesturing the bottle of wine and glass beside her scroll.

Laurel spared the unpoured drink a tired look. "Not yet," she answered, turning to give her partner a dull look. "Don't really know that I want to now." Oliver grimaced at her words, and Laurel cringed as well when she realized how he must have interpreted it. "What did you want?" she asked, trying not to come off as overly dismissive.

Oliver didn't say anything for a moment, eyes on the floor as he sat down on the edge of her bed. "I wanted to apologize," he said finally, "for dragging you into all of this." He lifted his hand toward her, waving off a rebuke that wasn't going to come; she was too tired for that. "I know it was your decision to come along and keep an eye on Aspen, but… this wasn't how I wanted this trip to go."

Laurel leaned her head back. "I did try to warn you about her."

"I'm not talking about Aspen." She rolled her head over to look at Oliver, curious. He was scratching at the hair under his lower lip, the way he did when he was trying to figure out the exact wording he wanted to use. "I was planning on bringing you out here for the tournament before we even found her. I knew you'd been wanting to go for a while, and I wanted to do something special." His eyes dropped at the admission. "I guess, as foolish as it might be, I was trying to repay you for sticking with me after… what I did to you."

Laurel fidgeted under his words. She'd suspected there had been more to this tournament trip than just taking Aspen on a whim, but the idea that he'd done it for her made her uncomfortable, particularly since she felt she was the one holding that particular transgression over him. Glancing over at her scroll, she saw that they had already begun the ceremony and were selecting the first of the night's match-ups. A girl from Atlas… and that Mistrali prodigy, Pyrrha Nikos. I know who my money's on.

"C'mon, Laurel. At least say something."

The woman sighed internally and closed her eyes. "Where's Aspen?" she asked with a touch of shame. There was no reason for her to bring Aspen up other than to try to divert her own guilt, to burden him with another of her own problems.

Oliver seemed to understand this as, when he did finally answer after a few moments of silence, his tone was more frustrated than she was used to hearing. "She's at the tournament with her team."

"Are you serious?!" Laurel sat up as she turned on her partner. "And you just let her go?"

The man's face was drawn into an irritated frown. "She didn't tell me until they were already on the airship up. What did you expect me to do?"

"Dammit, Oliver!" Laurel stood up, arms outstretched. "Last time she was up there, she almost killed three girls!"

"And almost got killed herself!" Oliver countered, standing up as well. "You don't need to remind of every little thing she's done every five minutes, Laurel." He took a breath and shook his head, eyes fixed on her. "When the hell did you become so cynical? I get that you're not a people person and I've accepted that, but this is… It's like you have it out for her!"

Laurel gripped her hair in frustration, not even bothering to answer his question. "This is Gray all over again," she growled, more to herself than Oliver.

The words had reached his ears, however, and the pain in his eyes was evident. "Are you serious? Please, tell me you don't actually blame me for Gray's death, not after all these years of telling me it's not my fault."

"Of course I don't blame you, I blame her!" The words were out of Laurel's mouth before she could stop them. "I…" She wanted nothing more than to take them back, to tell him she hadn't meant them, but she had, and she'd hurt him worse than she could possibly imagine.

She opened her mouth to say something, anything, to explain herself, but a long, wailing siren pushed itself through the air, cutting their argument short. Both Hunters grew still as a synthesized voice, muffled as it was through the building, delivered words they never wanted to hear. "Alert. Incoming Grimm attack. Threat level: Nine. Please seek shelter in a calm and orderly manner."

Laurel looked at her partner, knowing that the horrified look on his face must have been a match for the one on her own. A Grimm attack during the festival… Threat level nine… What kind of shelter did they expect these people to take?

Oliver recovered before she did, moving quickly to the door to head to his room. Laurel made to follow so that she could gear up, but she stopped when he turned to give her one last look. "We'll finish our talk later," he said, voice calm despite the pain in his eyes. "Just… stay safe." Laurel nodded as he left before turning to her own preparations. This night was going to be hell.

(- -)

Amity Colosseum was just as distracting as it was on Aspen's first visit, if not more so. Last time, she'd had to sit on a hard bench, which at least gave her a way to ground herself, but the seats Ilex had picked for them were actual chairs with cushions and armrests, too soft to focus on. On top of that, it felt as though there were more people there than there had been before, though she couldn't be certain.

She gripped her armrests tightly, anxiously waiting for the night to be over. To her left, Ruby sat in just as much discomfort, constantly looking down and fidgeting with her clothes in nervousness. Ilex sat to her right, and Carmine and Rhys were in front of them. Rather than sitting normally, however, the brown-haired faunus had his knees in the seat to look over the back at her, using his hands to talk to her.

He "spoke" quickly, more than eager to tell her about his life before Beacon: born in some place called "Mistral" to a faunus father and human mother; youngest of four with two brothers and one sister, though he was the only deaf one; several "aunts" and "uncles" and numerous "cousins"; then met Ilex at a school called "Sanctum" before going to Beacon. All Ruby had done was ask how Ilex knew sign language. Still, Aspen appreciated that this manner of communication required her focus and distracted her from the press of auras around her.

As Rhys finished signing, Aspen nodded carefully before asking, "Where is Mistral?" There was a brief lapse in the conversation, and she felt surprise emanating from her companions. Had she said something unusual?

"It's a kingdom pretty far to the east from Vale," Ilex eventually explained, leaning closer toward her on his armrest. "It's a whole other continent, actually. Sanctum is a primary combat school there, the kind of place you go to learn the basics before heading to one of the academies."

"I understand," Aspen said slowly as she nodded again. She turned her head toward him, feeling a cool wave of satisfaction roll through his aura. "You are from Mistral as well?"

The satisfaction disappeared as Ilex became unusually nervous, moving away from her to sit up straighter. "Well, not exactly…" he said, eyes turning toward the arena. "Oh, look, the finalists are coming out."

Before he'd even finished talking, the deafening voice of the announcer boomed across the colosseum. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the one-on-one round of the Vytal Festival Tournament!" Aspen flinched at the sound, instinctively reaching up to cover her ears. It seemed louder than the last time she'd been there, but none of the others around her seemed to have been disturbed by it. Carmine was looking back at her with suspicion, however. She met his gaze and, after a few heartbeats, he turned to face the arena like everyone else.

It was plain to see that Ilex had been right about the finalists coming onto the arena floor. As Aspen looked down at them, however, something began to worm its way into her chest. Fear. It wasn't the sharp terror she'd felt in Ruby when they'd fought or in Rhys after their encounter with Deirean the day before, though. This time, it was more of an uncertainty, a fear of the unknown, and it was coming from someone on the arena floor. She scanned over them, trying to find the source.

"Alright, it's now time to begin the randomization process for our next fight!"

She found the source of her pain soon enough, easy to pick out just by observing the faces of the hunter-students lined up. A tall, redheaded girl was looking around uncomfortably, making little effort to hide the way she was wringing her gloved hands in front of herself. Her outfit struck Aspen as that of a warrior despite the lack of meaningful armor on her arms, and she bore a mostly-circular shield on her back.

A dinging noise filled the air as the large screens around the colosseum displayed a different girl who had orange hair. "It looks like our first contender is... Penny Polendina from Atlas! And her opponent will be…" Another ding, and the redheaded girl's face appeared. "Pyrrha Nikos, from Beacon!"

Beside Aspen, Ruby gasped. "Oh, no…" The cloaked girl stood and made her way past Aspen and Ilex, anxiously apologizing along the way. Puzzled by the odd behavior, Aspen watched as Ruby ran back toward the concourse area.

"What's up with her?" Ilex asked.

Aspen didn't know. Had the other girl noticed something she hadn't? She'd reacted when they'd announced Pyrrha, so that was possible. Unless it was Pyrrha's emotions that concerned Ruby? In that case, should she be concerned as well?

As Aspen considered it, though, a loud sound blasted into the colosseum, and she flinched again. People around her cheered and, as the noise continued, she realized it was some type of music. Her eyes turned back to the arena. Only the two girls called out by the screen remained, though the field itself was in the process of changing. The floor had split into nine sections, with the center octagon floating in midair as the floor that had once surrounded it retracted into the walls of the arena. Aspen had seen something similar when the Ruby Team had fought, but she still couldn't understand how it all worked. A ring of lights surrounded the floating platform, illuminating the two Hunter-students.

"Fighters, are you ready?"

The pain in Aspen's chest dulled, and another sensation began to settle on her skin. This one was different than any she had felt before, almost… hollow, if an aura could feel hollow. It was smooth, like metal, but it clung to her in a way that metal didn't, and left her skin feeling dry. It felt artificial, like Ilex did whenever he spoke with her. It felt like plastic, and it was coming from… Penny. Her hand drifted down to her pocket where she kept her scroll. Was this the sort of thing Ozpin was worried about? Was this considered unusual enough?

"3… 2… 1… Begin!"

Aspen jumped in her seat, only this time it hadn't been because of some unexpected sound. Rather, Penny's aura had suddenly arced across her skin like static. She leaned forward in her seat, watching the orange-haired girl intently. Several swords had appeared from behind her, held aloft in midair by some force as they followed her movements in tight arcs in front of her before firing off toward Pyrrha.

"Aspen?" The girl turned her head sharply to look at Ilex, a look of concern on his face. "Is everything okay?"

She briefly focused on his aura—long enough to note with some surprise that his concern seemed to be genuine—before looking back at the fight unfolding in the arena. "I… don't think so." Feeling the flux of worry from the boy, Aspen slipped her hand into her pocket and removed her scroll. She opened it and located James's contact information to call him.

-|Call failed|-

Aspen frowned; this technology was new to her, and she wasn't sure how to handle this situation. Ilex, leaning over toward her, carefully extended his hand toward her. "Let me see it." Aspen relinquished the scroll to him, and he swiftly went to work. "Ironwood? Isn't he Atlas's Headmaster? What are you trying to call him for? Why do you even have his number?"

"Ozpin wanted me to let him know if I felt anything 'unusual,' " she explained, eyeing the two Hunter-students in the arena fighting in close-quarters with their swords. Pyrrha's fear seemed to have been pushed aside to focus on the duel, but Aspen could still feel it lingering beneath the surface. And Penny…

"Uh, alright then." After a moment, Ilex hummed, and Aspen turned back to him. It appeared as though he had attempted to call his own scroll from hers, only to receive the same message. "Here," he said, returning her device, "let me try mine." Pulling his scroll out, he typed in a series of numbers.

-|Call failed|-

"What the…" Muttering under his breath, Ilex leaned forward and tapped Carmine on the shoulder. "Hey, lemme see your scroll."

As the two bickered, a flash of green caught Aspen's eye. She looked down at the arena again to see that Penny had pulled her swords into three clusters, green balls of… energy forming within them before firing out toward Pyrrha. That was definitely not natural. Closing her eyes, Aspen scanned the crowd, trying to find the General's stony aura. If she couldn't call him, she would have to—

Pain suddenly shot through her limbs, panic and terror amidst a coppery aura. Aspen opened her eyes to see Penny reared back with swords aimed at Pyrrha, moments before they shot forward. The redhead waved her arms in front of her and the swords, wreathed in a strange, black glow, reversed direction and flew past their wielder. They hung there for a heartbeat before Penny… fell apart.

A wave of horror crashed into Aspen from the surrounding spectators, soon mixed with confusion. Gasping in pain, she kept her eyes on the arena for as long as she could manage. What should have been a gruesome scene was notably clean, with no blood to be seen amidst the multiple pieces of the girl. Instead, on the screens, Aspen could see that Penny's insides appeared to be, somehow, mechanical in nature. Amidst the pain, she felt an… emptiness, a cold nothingness that she could only assume was the disappearance of the girl's aura.

The screens Aspen was looking at suddenly turned red with the image of a black queen in the center, the same chess piece she had chosen during her initiation. She closed her eyes, unable to keep them open any longer. A new voice rang out through the colosseum, one Aspen recognized. "This is not a tragedy. This is not an accident." The murmurs of the crowd fell silent as Cinder Fall spoke, leaving Aspen feeling isolated in her pain with only the woman's voice.

"This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children, to men who claim to be our guardians but are, in reality, nothing more than men. Our Academies' Headmasters wield more power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control both."

Fear began to creep from the auras around Aspen, digging deep into her body. She closed her eyes tighter, searching desperately for something to latch onto besides Cinder's voice.

"They cling to this 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."

The fear swelled, joined by a distrust that forced Aspen to duck forward in her seat. She grit her teeth, gripping the armrests of her seat. Something… Anything…

"And how, I ask you, is Ozpin running his school? First a meltdown, now this? Even rewarding the assault of one of his own teams by granting the girl responsible admission. Huntsmen and Huntresses should carry themselves with honor and control, yet I have witnessed nei…"

All sound faded from Aspen's ears as auras filled with fear overwhelmed her. Tear them apart. The voice was clear in her mind, and it was her own. Silence them and the pain will go away. Something shook in her throat, but she couldn't hear the sound she made. You have the power to kill all of them. She felt a hand on her shoulder, cold like ice. They do not deserve to live. She tightened her grip on the armrests, and she could feel one of them break. KILL THEM!

Aspen screamed. It filled her ears, a raw piercing sound that drowned out the voice in her head. She opened her eyes, finding herself standing in the mostly empty colosseum, with only a score of other Hunter-students remaining around the lower ring of seating. Above her, an enormous Nevermore perched on an invisible barrier over the top of the arena, and it was looking down at her. With no conscious thought, Aspen growled.

"Leave."


A bit of a shorter chapter this time around. To be honest, this one and the next probably could have been one long chapter, but I decided to break it up into two. It's a lot of things happening and different, overlapping viewpoints, and I want to make sure it all comes across relatively clear.

Compared to 16, this chapter was a lot easier to write. The first scene was still difficult, which is why I wound up writing it after the second, but still. Anyway, yeah. It was actually somewhat of a product of my "rewrites." I'd always planned for a scene between Oliver and Laurel right before everything goes to hell, but it was pretty much the complete opposite of what happened here. I hadn't been particularly happy with Laurel's role in the story or how her attitudes have evolved since the beginning, but going back through made me start thinking how I could adapt that instead of changing it, and that led to… well, this scene.

As for the second one… It feels good to finally write that one. Nobody thought Aspen going to the colosseum the night Cinder made her move was going to end well, right? I'll admit, I feel a bit of a sadistic glee from putting Aspen into caustic situations and having her struggle against them. It's just so satisfying to write. Those last few paragraphs in particular give me chills, but I might be a little biased.

There'll be more to say next chapter, so I'll just leave it at that. I hope you all enjoyed! Au revoir!