Current Energy: 13
Saturday, March 5th, 2011
City of Vale, Remnant
"Hey I know we're heroes and shit but I teabagged the Simurgh a couple weeks ago and I don't really got the patience for this shit." Trainwreck growls, shifting his feet into a stance more suited to combat and glancing around himself.
"I'd be lying if I said I was comfortable with getting arrested for helping." Danny admits tiredly, pulling his hammer from his shoulder and shifting forward to sandwich a frowning Mem between himself and Trainwreck.
"General, this is foolish. Please, allow us to explain." She states aloud, though from seemingly nowhere she draws a replica of her weapon form, allowing it to slowly click against the ground as she settles with both hands on the cane's top.
In the background you note that Yang, Ruby, and their teammates are watching from outside the encirclement, obviously unsure of exactly what to do. They are obviously aware that you helped them - but equally, they are obviously aware that the man before you is some kind of lawful authority figure, leaving them unsure of who exactly is in the right.
'Taylor?' You ask your Master, unwilling to take action without her permission.
Well. That's a lie. You are very willing to take all sorts of questionable actions without her permission so long as it benefits your Master. Which is something you just realized about yourself, only accented by this current Emulation. Do you value right and wrong as your Master has taught you to understand them? Yes, absolutely. Do you value them above your Master's well being?
Not in the slightest.
'Hang on, I'm gonna... ' She pauses, audibly sighs, then continues. 'gonna let Ozma talk for a minute.'
You wrinkle your nose at the admission. Your previous emulation barely considered it, but your current one finds the permanent presence of another being in your Master's head somewhere between unpleasant and heretical.
Which makes the fact that you put it there particularly annoying.
'If I became intangible I could-' You begin to suggest, suddenly much more willing to kill basically everyone present.
'Just wait, okay?' Taylor answers, and there is a faint pulse of amusement from her end of your connection at your reaction.
And then, like a switch has been flipped, everything about your Master's outward demeanor and stance change. She straightens up, carefully dusts off her collar - and Nemesis vanishes somewhat violently from her hand, which forces you to resist the urge to snicker at the vindictive sword spirit.
"James. I believe it is for the best that we go with you, so I'll endeavour to convince my comrades not to do anything rash - but do be aware that the very reason you are attempting to detain us is likewise a reason for you to be very polite in our treatment." Taylor speaks, using a cadence and tone so perfectly mirroring an entirely different man that even the stalwart general is briefly given pause.
"I assure you, you aren't under arrest. For your own protection and everyone else's, I would ask that you come with me - peacefully." The general finally states after a moment to ponder, during which he glances between your Master and Mem - who is clearly wielding Ozpin's weapon of choice. As he does so, he waves at his men, causing the vast majority of them to lower their firearms.
Your Master visibly relaxes at this, and for good reason. As much as you are confident in the powers of Aura protecting Danny from harm, Aura is also native to this world, so it stands to reason that their military would have accounted for it.
"Thank you, James." Ozma states with a thin lipped smile for the man, before his expression freezes and his posture returns to your Master's normal outward demeanor.
"Man, I hate, hate, hate, doing that. I swear I let him take control for a minute and all I can smell is burnt toast the entire time. Guh." Taylor groans in annoyance, shaking her head slightly before glancing at Ironwood then to Trainwreck.
"Alright guys, looks like this might take a bit. You should probably make sure the kids aren't burning the castle down or something in protest." She finally says aloud in an entirely unbothered voice.
"I am not leaving my daughter to be arrested-" Danny says aggressively.
"I'm not under arrest! He even said-" Taylor tries to counter.
"Sweetheart, look at him - he's clearly a… what do the kids say… a tool." Says, gesturing loosely at General Ironwood, and earning a raised eyebrow from the man who is watching the by play curiously.
"Dad! He's the general of an entire nation's military! You can't just say that!" Taylor shouts in dismay.
"And I'm your father which means that I have a legal right to be present if-"
"This conversation is moot. I'm afraid I have to ask all of you to come with me." Ironwood finally decides to chime in, having carefully approached while the pair were arguing.
"Counterpoint," Taylor says, her sword appearing in her hands and cleaving a Gap open before anyone can immediately respond.
You're sure she expected her Father and Trainwreck to jump through it before anyone else could respond, but instead the pair just go back to eyeing their surroundings warily as every solider present raises their weapons again.
"...Seriously guys?" She grumbles at them.
"Magic words boss." Trainwreck notes with amusement at about the same time that Ironwood barks, "Drop your weapons immediately."
"...Please?" She asks, visibly annoyed - and clearly ignoring Ironwood's orders.
"I'm not-" Danny visibly bristles but Trainwreck cuts him off.
"Magic words boss. Plural. The fuck are they teaching you kids in school nowadays?" He sighs in mock dejection.
"Really? Right now?" Taylor hisses at him.
"Why the fuck not? Ain't like these dipshits can actually hurt us." he points out, much to Ironwoods visible annoyance.
"They can hurt Dad!" Taylor growls at him.
Trainwreck takes a moment to ponder that before noticeably deflating.
"Fine. You owe me for this though!" He finally bites back, reaching over to envelop Danny in one massive hand and jumping through the Gap - which quickly closes behind him.
"Finally! Mem, Mun, do you mind…?" She asks, still ignoring Ironwood. Taking your that as your queue, you fade away, becoming intangible - at about the same time that Mun, in the form of a bird, flutters over to land on your Masters shoulder, and Mun flickers slightly before vanishing herself - leaving behind only the freestanding cane from which she was born.
Your Master, quickly and cheekily, scoops the weapon up, sheathing Nemesis (which you will surely hear about later) and waiting patiently for everyone present to… well for them to stop yelling.
It takes a while.
"So you know, when you said I wasn't under arrest, I kind of expected not to be put in a prison cell?" Taylor notes aloud from where she is currently sitting patiently on a bench - in a prison cell. Granted, the cell is on an airship, which is interesting enough you suppose, but still.
This was not what you were promised.
The cell itself is nothing to write home about. It's basically just a metal room with a heavy steel door set into one wall. That single door is easily a foot thick, and has a single circular window roughly a hand length wide set into it. Through that window you can see General Ironwood, in addition to one other person who have come to see you - a scant hour after your Master's incarceration.
You, of course, are not in the cell with her. Instead, you spent the majority of the last hour wandering about the airship, more specifically, trying to figure out who to kill to crash the whole thing in the unlikely event hostilities arise. You don't want to kill everyone present, but historically your current Emulation has only ever really had one way of solving his problems.
"I gotta agree with her, Jimmy. If she's anything like as strong as you said she was this strikes me as a mite stupid. Is- is this even actually holding her?" a scruffy looking man asks the general, looking for all the world like he just wandered out of a strip club and accidentally found himself on the military vessel. He has spiky black hair, a shirt unbuttoned a quarter of the way up in a fashion common to men who are less attractive than they think they are, and - for no particular reason that you can discern - a red cape draping down the back of his otherwise normal looking attire.
"These cells are rated to survive the entire ship crashing. Even a Maiden-" Ironwood begins to explain patiently.
Neither of the men are aware your Master can hear them. Because really, she can't. They are listening to her via some form of surveillance system in the cell, but you are merely standing behind them and relaying what they are saying.
Which is why it catches both men off guard when she answers the scruffy one.
"Not really, no. Look I really do want to help you guys, but I kind of need to talk to Ozpin before I head home for the day and this is getting really old really fast." Taylor speaks up, cutting Ironwood off.
Both of the adult men standing outside the cell pause to look at eachother.
"You know, it'd serve you right if she blew the ship up to get out right?" The scruffy man notes dryly.
"I don't understand how she can even hear us. A semblance?" Ironwood muses, frowning at the door.
"Don't have one yet. Look, I have kind of a thing about being locked in small metal boxes. Give me a second."
"Do not attempt to breach the door." Ironwood immediately barks.
"No wait, I kind of want to see this." The other man calms him, gently stepping to the side of the door, clearly expecting it to be blown off its hinges.
"Qrow this isn't a game. If she is a Maiden she needs to be protected at all costs - even if she doesn't like it." Ironwood growls back at him.
It is at this particular moment, that a sword pierces space next to the two, ripping open a Gap that your Master quickly steps through.
"First off, not a Maiden. Second. I get that teleporting straight to the man would be rude but if someone doesn't get me in contact with Ozpin soon I'm gonna do it." Your Master says flatly.
This time, it is the scruffy man - Qrow's - turn to stare agog at your Master, recognition and abject terror flashing through his eyes for just the briefest of moments before he steps forward to put his hands on Taylor's shoulders.
"You poor fucking kid." He says aloud.
"Uh… okay I mean the cell wasn't that tiny." She says awkwardly stepping away from him.
"Sorry. You said you wanted to talk to Oz right? I'm betting you've got a message for him?" Qrow continues, his eyes slightly bloodshot.
"Well yeah but-" Taylor asks in clear confusion.
"The hell is that woman thinking. I swear I- hey how old are you?" Qrow continues to ramble, pacing back and forth in a manner that even Ironwood finds perplexing.
"Fifteen…" Taylor says hesitantly, clearly no more aware of what's going on than you are, but more than willing to talk as long as someone will eventually actually help her.
Qrow, of course, begins actively counting on his fingers, clearly trying to work something out.
"Qrow? Explain." Ironwood eventually states flatly.
"Huh? Oh. Don't worry about it. Family stuff. Come on, we gotta get my stupid sisters sprog to Ozpin." He says tiredly.
It is at this exact moment, that it clearly clicks for your Master, and she suppresses a snicker at the man's expense as she explains it to you.
'I completely forgot about her because she sucks, but Qrow here has a sister who's got hair like me and can cut portals open with her semblance. I think he assumes I'm his niece somehow.' Taylor notes with some amusement.
You consider that for a moment, then shrug.
Whatever gets things moving along the quickest.
And hey, you didn't even have to kill anyone.