4-4: Altercation

The first thing she noticed when she entered the building was the constant ticking noise in the background, everywhere and nowhere all at once, having no distinct source as it barely touched at her senses. The next thing she noticed was that the thing she was following, that massive figure that had dragged around a shackled Ursa, was now fully illuminated by the building's dust lamps.

Winter's eyes narrowed as she spotted the black metallic plates that formed most of the figure's body, with only white metallic plates to act as aesthetic accents. For all intents and purposes, it looked like an Ursa from the distance, which only brought more worry to the Atlesian operative's mind. After all, this was a deliberate action, which meant that someone wanted to create monsters that looked like grimm.

Her first thought was that this was something related to the White Fang, given their outspoken symbolism and increasingly radical nature. The Schnee did not doubt that, one of these days, the faunus organization would end up doing something to push them over the edge... And if that was the case, then constructs that looked like grimm wouldn't be too unreasonable either.

However, two things quickly suppressed that theory: Firstly, this entire place was supposed to be a White Fang encampment, yet the fort had been utterly destroyed, with only this curious structure standing among the rubble. Not only that, but the fort had been destroyed by grimm, completely overrun by the beasts of destruction that had so completely supplanted the White Fang powerbase. The fact that this creation was now gathering grimm, rather than destroying it in a patriotic fit of rage, was more than enough to tell Winter that the Faunus Rights group was not responsible.

So who was?

Her eyes narrowed as she followed the creature through the hall, taking note of the building's odd metallic composition as she sneaked through the winding corridors. Part of her was surprised by the building's unusual design, as she saw pipes and rails flowing along the ceiling, while the walls seemed closer to gears in primitive machinery than actual walls. However, this was the least of Winter's concerns, as she continued trailing the metallic Ursa down the corridors.

Initially, she had been worried about the lack of cover in the hallway; the eccentric gears and pipes provided her with the occasional alcove to slip out of sight, but most of the path was spacious enough that, were the artificial grimm to turn around, it could spot her with little difficulty. This worry soon lessened as she followed the thing deeper into the compound, as she noticed that the metallic creation simply didn't care about its surroundings. Instead, it seemed content to mindlessly walk forward, its body fixed in one direction as it dragged the inert Ursa behind it.

That methodical pace soon led the machine and its captive to a pair of imposing doors, its size and scale more befitting of fortress gates than a simple entrance to interior rooms. As with everything else in the facility, the doors yielded to the mechanical Ursa, the groan of moving metal reaching Winter's hiding spot as the barrier slowly opened. And just like that, the beast entered the mysterious room, disappearing out of sight as it slipped past the two massive doors.

After a few seconds, the doors slowly began to close, dragging along the floor as Winter sprang into action in response. She could've chosen to explore the rest of the facility, of course, but that mechanical Ursa had been dragging around a beast of grimm, causing no small amount of concern in the huntress. Rather than getting lost, Winter had intended to find out what purpose these captured grimm served, and that meant following the robotic figure to the end.

Without another thought, the Atlesian operative slipped through the door, entering the room beyond as she quickly drew her blade.

That was the correct response, as she was immediately greeted by the sight of the metallic Ursa from earlier. No longer carrying its monstrous captive, the massive construct charged straight at her, moving with a speed she did not expect in something so large. The room itself seemed to quake as the beast ran forward, each thundering step a testament to its size.

Without another thought, Winter leapt out of the way, avoiding the powerful charge as she watched the mechanical Ursa slam into the doors. Whether it was due to the sheer strength of the Ursa, or due to some flaw in how the doors were built, the robot broke through the gates with that single motion, the sound of metal slamming against metal filling the room.

The Ursa quickly recovered, turning around just in time to spot her counter attack as Winter gathered her aura. Dust burned as she drew her glyph, her aura flowing through the hilt of her blade as she activated her Semblance. A glyph appeared beneath the grimm, flashing for one quick second before exploding out into a bloom of ice, locking the monster in place.

However, the mechanical beast cared not for something as trivial as physical restraints, and she could slowly hear the sound of ice beginning to snap. Rather than give the beast a chance to escape, Winter formed four more glyphs, three of which were arrayed in a straight line between herself and her target, while the last once centered itself at the huntresses feet, pulsing with energy as-
A clock rang out, and Winter froze.

Instantly, her aura flared up, a conditioned response to danger as she heard the chime of the distant clock. Rather than question the oddity of it, the Atlesian operative acted on instinct, preparing herself for something as she felt a foreign power fill the air. She tried to turn to the source, that spot beyond her vision where she had heard the noise, but found herself unable to move as she struggled against an unknown pressure.

... No, this wasn't pressure. The experience that the Huntress had gathered over the years quickly recognized this as something else.

Pressure frayed at your senses, forcing against your aura as it threatened to crush you. This sensation, on the other hand, was the exact opposite, as Winter felt her aura attempt to lash out in defiance, to struggle and crush it in some unknown response. It was the first time that the huntress had encountered something that her aura seemed so diametrically opposed to, as she felt her aura oppose it on a fundamental level. Rather than question this sensation, she followed it through, focusing her thoughts as she poured more strength the struggle.

Her aura shone in response. Winter began shifting her power away from three of her glyphs, twisting her semblance as she felt strength leave those arcane markings, flowing instead to the final glyph beneath her.

Yet, in spite of her determination, her power only seemed to trickle, taking far long than necessary to fuel something as simple as her enhancement glyph. Part of her noticed this fact, but most of her attention remained focused on pushing the aura onward, intent on breaking through this foreign sensation as fast as possible. In her efforts, the woman failed to notice the arrival of a new figure, one who had been completely unaffected by the power that had filled the room.

Nox had seen many things on his time in this world, but this was the most worrying.

While he was certainly nowhere near his full strength, his latest spell was still supposed to be strong enough to exert his dominion over time. There was no way the Xelor could hope to replicate his strongest spells, especially without the assistance of the Eliacube to focus his power, but he should've still been able to hold some sway over the world around him; at the very least, the world under the influence of his Dial.

Instead, he could only watch as the test subject fought against his power.

Unlike his earlier subjects, Nox noticed that the mysterious power wielded by this new subject was far more potent, refined rather than untamed, and this brought no small amount of theories to the Xelor. If it could be controlled to this degree, then the power was certainly far more flexible than he originally gave it credit for... and he had already seen its versatility through his previous subjects.

Still, those thoughts were secondary to the events that were unfolding before him, as the woman continued resisting his powers. For the first time since his arrival in this world, Nox cursed his lack of Wakfu, unable to bring something far more potent to bear. Honestly, part of him was tempted to just cease his power, as it was slowly turning to a waste of energy moreso than anything else. Sure, he was still able to observe whatever it was the Subject was currently attempting to do, but the data would've been far more useful had she been unaware of his influence.

Yes, were she still focused on combating his Clockwork Bear, Nox would've been able to glean far more insight to the nature of this mysterious power, especially since this woman's particular brand of energy had far more reach than his previous ones; doubly so since those circles seemed to parallel the sigils used by some of the more magically inclined denizens of the World of Twelve.

At least the woman had one last sigil to use. So, Nox maintained his power, watching with mild curiosity as the woman's mysterious energy began shaping itself into something more. He could see that the power traveled specific pathways, the thin wisps coated with the familiar tint of spent powder fuel, likely stored somewhere on the Subject's person as it finalized itself. In a few short moments, the armoured mummy would be able to witness this particular power, catalog it inside his memory for future use, and then crea-

The Subject's sigil came to life. Noximilien's temporal Dial cracked.

In a single instant, the Xelor felt his Wakfu come to a halt, no longer filling the air with its influence as it retreated back into his Dial. This left the man... stunned. How dare this little worm disrupt his plans? It was one thing to sneak into his home unannounced, but to think that it had the gall to sabotage his efforts! There would be no recourse for this transgression, and Nox immediately discarded the rest of the experiment.

The man paid little attention to the Subject's sudden outcry of confusion, his thoughts already onto other matters as he tried to check the damage.

Thankfully, he could still feel the presence of his creations, and a few instinctual thoughts from the Xelor confirmed that he was still somehow connected to his network of Noxines and Clockwork minions. It seemed that the only point of damage had been his Dial, and only the focus of Wakfu had been disrupted; the rest of his powers were still... acceptable.

At the same time, that missing Wakfu had acted as his sole tool from the World of Twelve, and with its disappearance, Nox's ability to maintain his powers diminished tremendously. So, rather than attempt to fuel his spell with his internal Wakfu, Nox had decided to simply cut it off instead; this world had its own power for him to utilize, after all. The Xelor pulled out a vial of red powder fuel, paying no attention to its familiar hue as he shifted his thoughs back to the room.

Powder fuel burned as Nox summoned forth a gout of flame, the sudden inferno wrapping around the icy prison that had locked his Clockwork Bear as he freed his creation. Nox didn't even bother to watch the ensuing fight as his mechanical pet charged the Test Subject, his attention focused on the walls of the room as he mentally pulled them away, gears rolling aside to reveal the hidden alcoves of his room, releasing a tide of feral shadow beasts and his remaining Clockwork Gators.

Finally, the Xelor turned his gaze back to the subject, the lens of his mask flaring with a crimson glow as he invoked this world's power once more, this time for his own personal usage. Unfortunately, the vial of powder fuel was mostly spent by this point, so the boon it gave the man was minuscule at best... Not that that stopped Nox, as he had more than just that petty vial. Once again, the Xelor slipped his hand into his pocket, this time drawing forth one of the rare red crystals that he had appropriated from Subject#3 and #4's failed attack, activating it with his own power. Instantly, he felt the fuel seep into him, the expended tanks of his Wakfu harness surging with elemental fire as Nox's eyes burned.

Yes... this will be sufficient.

Energy gathered in his palm as he brought his hand up, the air flickering with light and heat as he summoned forth his personal blade. One part of him took notice at how much it had changed, the effect of the Red Crystal reforging the weapon into something far deadlier than its previous form; As always, it took on the form of a clock hand, but unlike before, elemental lines of power wove itself into the metal, creating distinct pathways for him to utilize his power.

And he certainly intended to utilize it. However, that would be for later; for now, the Xelor turned his attention back to the Subject, his eyes narrowing as he watched her face off against his clockwork creations and the shadow beasts.

The first thing he noticed was the fact that the beasts all converged on the woman with far greater intensity than he had seen any animal perform. The wolves all struck with blinding fury, while the boars readied themselves for their powerful charge, spinning themselves up as they prepared to lunge at the woman. It was surprising to see the amount of coordination the beasts held, as the wolves instinctively acted to delay the woman's attention, only to pull themselves out of the way of the boars' attacks.

... Perhaps he'll observe the shadow beasts first. After all, Nox had captured them for a reason, and they certainly seemed content to lash out at the woman. A mental command drew his clockwork creations backwards, leaving the woman and the beasts alone in their conflict. Nox settled his fiery gaze on the battle, watching the woman draw forth another sigil, fueling it with her mysterious power as energy gathered around the marking. It was telling to note that the shadow beasts seemed to ignore this phenomenon, showing a paradoxical display of intelligence and ignorance as they their relentless charge at the woman.

That soon changed when the woman completed her the sigil, throwing Nox's expectations aside. The Xelor's gaze narrowed as he replayed the sigil's energies in his mind, trying to figure out how it happened. Yet, there was nothing to explain what had happened: Somehow, the test subject had created a shadow beast, this one bearing a pure-white fur and brilliant blue lines, in contrast to the red and black that the other creatures wore.

By itself, that beast was insignificant, and its sudden appearance was not what distracted the armoured mummy. Instead, he was more focused on what it represented... If that was truly a shadow beast—and the white beast's motions certainly mirrored the instinctual rage that the black beasts carried—that meant that he had been sitting on a source of power this entire time.

"Oh-hoh. These animals might be useful after all." Nox chuckled at the thought, already shifting his mind back to harnessing power, completely discarding his earlier rage. After all, the Xelor was nothing if not efficient.

Nox's sudden voice drew the attention of the Subject, however, and she quickly turned her focus away from the rest of the beasts to face him. Her blue eyes locked themselves on the Xelor's crimson lights, and she instantly drew forth another sigil. As much as he would've liked to see the effect of this next action, he preferred when the target was not himself, so Nox flickered out of the way.

... Right. He didn't have that ability.

The Sigil completed itself, and Nox took the brunt of the attack, elemental lightning arcing towards him as it exploded in a concussive blast. Rather than question the logic behind that particular observation, the Xelor pulled himself up to his feet, leveling a dangerous glare at the woman.

Perhaps it was time to end this Charade.

Nox gripped his weapon, no longer content with inaction as he charged forward, the Red Crystal fueling his actions. The woman readied herself for his strike, as she brought her weapon up to face Nox's charge, providing the Xelor with a convenient target; a disarmed opponent was one more pliable to surrender, after all. Now focused on his goal, the Xelor brought his blade up, bringing it back down in one powerful swing.

A loud clash echoed through the air, signifying that the Xelor had, indeed, struck against a weapon. However, his sword had not met the thin metal of the woman's blade, but rather... Something far larger. Far sturdier.

The armoured mummy's eyes narrowed as he turned his attention to the new combatant, fixed on the red eyes of a black-haired man.

This was not how he expected his day to go.

The last thing Qrow Branwen wanted to do was to save Jimmy's loyal toy soldier... But, he had a sort of history with this woman, and his own (admittedly loose) moral sense of judgement wouldn't let him leave girl alone.

Especially not to something as worrying as the person before them.

"Aren't you supposed to be a professional or something?" The huntsman gave a smirk, half tempted to throw a glance at the white-garbed huntress behind him. However, experience stopped that thought before it could gain traction, as the man knew he couldn't ignore his situation.

"...You! What are you doing here?"

"Saving you! Can't you tell?" Of course, that didn't mean he couldn't still poke fun at the huntress, and Qrow let out a chuckle as he parried his opponent's blade. "I doubt Jimmy will like the idea of losing his favourite soldier to some unknown maniac."

Maniac... Perhaps that wasn't the best way to describe it, as the huntsman watched his opponent in silence. Still, whatever it was, Qrow was certain that it was responsible for the whole racket that had shaken the rest of the world. Part of him wondered how much Ozpin knew about the situation, as this unknown person seemed to have a fetish for the whole clock motif that Beacon's Headmaster was so fond of.

Damnit, was this some terrible hazing ritual? He did not bring enough alcohol for this.

"That maniac that you're referring to is likely the reason behind the council's sudden support of the private sector's new expeditionary force."

Winter's voice was shrill, and the huntsman flinched at the sound of it as kept his eyes focused on the... Mummy. Sure, let's call it that. Either way, Qrow had come to the same conclusion the moment his eyes fell on the figure, and his opponent's familiarity with dust and whatever-else-it-was-using only furthered that idea. Coupled with the fact that it was also the same source of those robotic clock-bug-things, and it would be more surprising if someone didn't realize the mummy's involvement. So of course he'd decided to comment on Winter's obvious statement.

"You figure that out yourself? Why do you think I'm out here in the first place?"

The man smirked at himself once more, feeling the woman's glare bearing into the back of his neck. Still, he ultimately ignored it, having more important things to deal with as he turned his attention back to the mummy, watching it carefully as it began to ... take a stance? No, it was just standing there now. Why was it just standing there? Unless...

"Why are you out here in-"

"Not the time for that!"

Both huntsman and huntress felt the coming attack, diving out of the way just in time to avoid a blast of pure fire. Damnit, why didn't he expect that sooner? After all, he had watched the mummy use that attack before, when it freed the robotic bear that Winter... had...

Qrow took note of his surroundings once again. It seemed that, throughout their entire battle, neither the huntsman nor the huntress had noticed the robotic horde that had surrounded them. Crocodiles, Bears... even those floating bug things seemed to hover ominously around them, grouping up with the surviving grimm that Winter had missed.

"... We should probably argue later."

An affirmative grunt was all he heard from the woman, as he felt her prepare her aura once more. It seemed that he was not alone in this, as robotic creatures and grimm alike charged forward. Qrow readied his blade, shifting it back to its scythe form as he allowed himself a small grin.

"At least I never get the boring assignments."