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[Twinwolf]

Estela

Estela grit her teeth. "We don't have the firepower to do crap anyway, to Lily of Damnation or any meister that could keep up with her. We'd just get in the way." Estela said. "Doesn't mean we're sitting around though." She switched channels to her subordinate's. "Iona, watch them. Back off if you need to, but try and keep us posted on what's going on with this fight. Another click. "Fine, we'd die anyway if we tried to mess with them. You don't touch my radio op, you hear?" she said to the voice over the radio. And another click, as she stopped transmitting her own voice to talk to her ladies. "We're heading back to camp. I can't touch Damnation, so let's see if we can't go punch whoever's threatening our lady in the face."

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Yava
"Very well then." Yava nodded, moving towards the door. She stopped just short of the handle though, glancing back at the girl. "And regardless what you do or don't see... thank you, Siren."

And with that she stepped out into the hall, not really sure what to do with herself. This would probably take a decent while, perhaps enough time to forge a new tool using her power. Goddesses knew she'd have to be extremely prepared if she wished to kill, well... God herself.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Monika

Saro's maneuver was... Admittedly unexpected from Monika's perspective, especially the falling to the ground part. But, Monika was still just as fast, using her grip on Saro's arm and her overall superior strength to quickly flip the two over so that Monika was on top of the downed Saro.  Ordinarily, she might've made a comment about the situation, but now, Monika's only focus was on winning, with far too much weight on her shoulders to focus on quipping. So, with her advantageous position, Monika swiftly pulled back her free arm, right before bring it down to swing at Saro's jawline, using her weight to keep Saro from freeing herself.

[Glass]

Jessie

Thanks to Changer's gambit, Jessie was able to escape with the rest back to their home base. Although they'd made a bit of a ruckus, the mission was still a success. They'd kidnapped the girl, all that was left was to hand her off to the Neridans.

Changer retired to her room to rest, Hellia took Farore to her room to watch her, and the rest sat down in the living room. The reason why was obvious. Jessie's position with the group was tenuous at best. They didn't trust her, and the cracks were starting to show. Maybe they'd been starting to show for a while. All eyes were on her, and the silence was deafening.

Surprisingly, Lali was the one who broke the silence, "I still owe you. I told you most of it, but there's one last thing. Whenever I want, I can call down Starfollower on someone I've tagged and a few minutes later it will land right where they are. It usually kills them if it hits, but if they move or are underneath anything more solid than an umbrella, it won't work." A soft thud sounded from the room directly above Jessie. "Just like that." Lali mumbled, averting her gaze from Jessie.

Jessie

Jessie's mouth opened.
Closed.
Opened again.
Closed again.

How exactly do you respond to somebody letting you know that they can kill you much of the time without warning?

Her mouth opened again.

"Ah. Thank... you. I- I suppose I'll keep that in mind?"

Goddesses, she'd fucked up. But... she couldn't let them do this.
She just couldn't.

She'd wanted to be the hero, hadn't she? Oh, go fight the big bad Neridans, be some perpetual, sneaky thorn in their side- ha.
Like she'd actually done any of that. Like she was going to do any of that. Fucking poser. Idiot. She was a goddesses-damned idiot.
She wasn't some hero, some shadow in the night. She was a scared kid in over her own head who thought if she told herself she was scary hard enough, she'd stop being afraid. Like that had ever worked.

But.

But.

She was not going to allow them to break Farore. She was not going to allow them to break another child.

Maybe it'd kill her. Probably, even.
But... something about that girl made her feel less afraid.

She nodded.

"Yeah. I'll keep in in mind. I've, ah, got to go. Sorry if I've been a crappy friend. And, ah. Maybe I'll see you around."

And she left, to find Farore. To save Farore.
To finally do something with her damned life.

(It occurred to Jessie soon thereafter that Lali's averting her gaze would mean that unless she saw and lost sight of her again, Lali would remember her. But... Lali'd done her the courtesy of not keeping Starfollower hanging over her head. It might be stupid, but she could reciprocate. And frankly, it was too late to change what she'd already done.)


[There is... actually not a current update for Silvia to respond to. The last action for her is here, but there's no update for her since then. I didn't actually realize this was the case. So... yeah.]

[Takosher]

Silvia

Mirala raised an eyebrow, quietly indicating her deeper interest in the meisters at Lanica's disposal. Despite that, she nodded when Silvia suggested it as a topic for a later time.

"We should get something to eat next. We need to recharge and it will give us a chance get to know some of the Lanicans. Our primary goal here is friendship, after all." she smiled.

With nothing more to be said, she headed down the hall back the way the two of them had come from.

Jessie

Without facing Jessie again, Lali quietly said, "Goodbye Alice, take care of yourself." It almost sounded like she was about to cry, but it was too late for Jessie to turn back, even if she wanted to.

As Jessie scurried to leave, she passed by a tree. Leaned up again that was Mirth, although Jessie almost didn't notice her on account of the uncharacteristic hooded cloak she was wearing. In fact, she might have walked past without even realizing who it was if Mirth hadn't spoken.

"I know you're in a hurry Jessie, but do you mind if we have a quick chat first?" There was a smug tone in her voice that made it entirely too clear that "no" wasn't an option.

Monika

Saro managed to twist her head out of the way and Monika's fist instead hit the muddied ground, sending a spray into Saro's cheek. That wouldn't happen twice, victory was Monika's if she took it swiftly.

A thunderclap sounded directly next to Monika's head, and for a moment it seemed like the shotgun girl had intervened. A lack of ragdolling through the air and a ringing in her ear clarified the situation a bit. Saro hadn't been able to get her arm free enough to shoot Monika, but she had managed to get the weapon close enough to stun. Using the Monika's disorientation and the last reserves of her strength, Saro managed to shove Monika backwards off of her and scramble onto her feet. She was panting heavily and clutching her arm where Monika had hit it. Firing the gun from such an awkward position had caused the injury to worsen. Saro shifted the weapon to her off hand and pointed it at Monika. With her ears still blaring and her balance disrupted, Monika found herself at risk of losing for the first time since the fight began.

More bangs echoed over the ringing, drawing both Monika and Saro's attention to Faith's tank. The cannon was aimed at where Miko had been watching from, and Miko could be seen landing rather far in the distance, launched away by recoil from her own weapon. More importantly to Monika, however, was the presence of her holy weapon on the ground next to the vehicle. Faith must have gotten it free somehow.

Saro unloaded her weapon at the tank, but rather than the hole she had previously made, Saro's attacks rushed for the hole left by Monika's halberd. Faith was safe.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Monika

Gritting her teeth as he fist collided with the muddy ground, Monika wasted no time pulling the same fist back. At least, right before a loud bang erupted from the side of her head, causing her to reflexively clasp her hand over her ear, letting Saro free to push her off and get to her feet. Though Monika was quick to regain her footing, by the time she did so, Saro had already gotten up and aimed her gun at her, causing the world to drag to a halt as Monika physically stared down the barrel of what might've been her death.

At least, if not for the next deafening boom coming from Faith's tank, aimed at the other Meister coming in to support Saro. Naturally, the presence of the tank caused Saro's attention to shift, and for Monika, a potential opening. Not to take Saro out, the gunslinger had proven to be able to keep up even with the boost she had been receiving so far. No, she had a chance to retrieve her own weapon: Something that would put the tide back in her hands.

Thus, as Saro unloaded her gun at Faith's tank, Monika broke into a sprint, before quickly moving into a dive roll to both grab her weapon and quickly get back to her feet... A feat she was just barely able to do without ramming her head into the side of the tank. Still, halberd back in hand, Monika spun around, reentering her traditional combat stance as she stared down Saro, letting out a deep breath as she did so, "So. I don't suppose I can get you to drop your weapon and surrender, eh?" she finally asked, lightly raising an eyebrow as she asked, giving Saro a few moments to respond. Now she was a bit more comfortable, what with Saro's primary arm being injured and Monika, while tired, still at a respectable level of energy. And though she never exactly liked killing, especially not pretty faces.

But sometimes, death was unavoidable. The best she could do was give them a chance.

[Chevaleresse]

Lunete (& Silvia)

"Friendship, you say?" Lunete stepped out into the center of the hallway and raising one arm dramatically, ensuring her presence was noted. "A noble goal. Something sacred, even, seeing disparate women united by bonds of camaraderie. It is a shame, then," she said as her hand swept back downward, "that so many would take the guise of such a holy thing and pervert it with the muddiest of ill intents. Tell me, Katrian friends, what exactly did you find amongst our documents that would further your cause of friendship?" The look in her eye was unmistakably hostile, and almost manic in her triumph; she'd caught them red-handed, or so she thought.

[Takosher]

Monika

There was one more surprise in store. As Saro and Monika stood off for their final clash, a shadow loomed over them from above. Saro moved quickly, unloading her weapon out to the side in such a way that their arc to the tank would take them right through Monika, forcing her to back off. At the same time, Saro herself ran for the vehicle, evidently trying to get behind it. Her gun was holstered and she instead had her radio out. Monika heard her shout some kind of Neridan military code into it, but she didn't know what it meant.

"All of it, drop everything! The whole fucking payload!" was a lot easier to understand.

Above Monika, the Neridan flying machine opened its belly and let loose all the ordinance stored within. Saro dove underneath the tank for cover as the bombs crashed to ground. With a glimmering flash, the battlefield erupted in heat and flame. The explosions shook the air and it felt as though they threatened to crack the ground itself. And then, just as quickly as it had come, the inferno was gone. There wasn't even a hint of smoke.

Saro crawled out from under the tank and painstakingly pulled herself to her feet one last time. Despite the agony she was feeling, she still managed a confident smirk of victory. She looked around for Monika's scorched corpse, but her smirk quickly faded to confusion as she realize that the battlefield seemed almost completely untouched by the explosion. When she finally settled her eyes on the glow that had escaped her notice on her first, single-minded look around, confusion turned to fear.

{overly spicy chicken nugget theme}

Monika was still standing. One of her pants legs had been completely burned off to her thigh and her cape was mostly gone, along with most of the tassels on her uniform. But Monika herself was fine. In fact, she was better than fine. She was glowing. Orange light seeped through her hair, giving it a second, reddish tone on the underside. The same light blazed firmly in her eyes, turning them into twin red stars that seared a path straight into Saro's very soul. Most significant of all, Monika's halberd shone brightly in yellow-orange, a beacon across the battlefield that declared not even Neridus's superweapon could stand up to Katria's strongest meister.

Saro didn't even bother to reach for her revolver.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Monika

Eyes flicking to the side, Monika was quick to take note of the bullets being fired to the side, instinctively blasting herself back in order to avoid getting hit by them when they curved around. It wasn't too much of a problem, Monika could've easily closed the distance... If not for what she heard Saro say, followed by the instinctive urge to look up. She wasn't an expert on the whole "flying war machine" side of mechanics, but she even she could tell what was being dropped onto them at the moment: Explosions. Gigantic, heavy explosives, all being dropped right on her. For a brief moment, a wave of uncertainty froze Monika in place as she watched the swiftly approaching bombs fall towards her.

And then, she let out another breath, eyes hardening as she gripped her halberd tightly. She couldn't tell just how much firepower was packed into those bombs, but there wasn't room for doubt on the battlefield. Thus, pulling her halberd back, Monika shifted her position, bracing herself before abruptly thrusting her halberd forward... Right into the outer shell of the first bomb that was right about to fall on her.

Instantly, a wave of fire, force, and heat erupting in front of Monika, forcing the Major to a knee and managing to burn through her uniform slightly. But despite this, Monika didn't falter, her hand outstretched and letting off countless explosions in order to counteract the sheer force and shrapnel coming towards her, something that just barely brought her reprieve as the fellow bombs began rupturing, detonating all around her. Truth be told, it was by far the loudest cacophony of sounds she had ever heard, threatening to rupture her ears as she stood amidst the constant explosions.

And yet she didn't falter, not even after the final bomb exploded and was subsequently absorbed by her holy weapon. For a brief moment, Monika was reminded of her fight against Marionette upon looking at her halberd's glow. But even now, it wasn't the same. It wasn't just her halberd that was glowing, but she was as well. She felt alive, more so than ever, with power practically flowing through her veins. As she rose back to her feet, Monika took a moment to breathe in the air, relatively clear despite the sheer destructive force just dropped on the area. Then, her eyes snapped back open, flicking towards the petrified Saro before she let out a sigh, spinning her halberd around so that the tip was pointed towards the ground,

"I gave you a chance"

With that simple phrase, spoken in a casual tone and with a small shrug, Monika suddenly launched herself forward, a massive explosion blasting the ground she stood on. Closing the distance faster than she ever had before, Monika spun past Saro, her Halberd outstretched and easily dismembering Saro's gun arm. Barely giving Saro time to process the injury, Monika quickly spun around and blasted herself back, her halberd once again cleaving through Saro; This time from her shoulder to her waist, the searing hot blade instantly cauterizing the wound. Naturally, her spin ended with her skidding across the ground, quickly rising to her full height as she scanned the battlefield. Though she knew she probably didn't have long before this power died out, she had a feeling she wouldn't need to do much more now. The display of taking down one of Neridus' most lethal meisters, while raring to go for round two, might be enough to end the battle now.

[Takosher]

Lily

Laura felt herself growing increasingly frustrated with each passing blow. Every strike met the Katrian meister's barriers with force enough to crack the sky, and yet the ice didn't even crack. Even if the Katrian was merely stalling, Lily would inevitably lose a war of attrition. And even if she did win in the end, Fate might slip away by then. No matter what, Katherine couldn't be allowed to win. Lily had to win this fight, for the sake of the world, and for her sake.

"You will win when the time is right, Lilith." The Katrian spoke unexpectedly.

Layla retreated back several steps, surprised. "Who the hell are you?" she demanded warily.

"Emmery Canniba, it's nice to meet you, Lilith."

"Don't call me that." Lilith snarled.

"Why not?" Emmery asked, "Isn't that who you are? Please, keep fighting, if you hesitate now you may be too late. My story, brief as it has been, ends now. But if you go at the right time, you can still tell yours. You mustn't forget yourself, Lilith."

Emmery's words were confusing, and Lilith almost fell prey to them. She didn't know what was happening, but there must have been a deeper effect of Emmery's weapon than just creating barriers. Frost weapons were such a nuisance. Forcing herself to think straight, Lylah focused on the fight. She wouldn't lose, not now. Flashing forwards again, she resumed her assault with twice the intensity. Emmery still blocked each strike without showing so much as a hint of effort. With a cry of determination, Lily pushed off the barrier that blocked her next attack, launching herself into the air alongside a flash of electricity. The sky crackled with energy as she rose, drawing power from the clouds into herself. She may have been powerless to defeat Emmery herself, but maybe she could be a conduit for a power that could. A lightning bolt erupted downwards, channeled through Lily's own body. It narrowly missed Emmery, cutting a jagged arc into the ground right next to her. Enraged, Lily unleashed a flurry of bolts, but all met the same fate.

No. I can't. I have to see her again, damn you.

Layla felt cold. So cold, so empty. She'd come so far, but in the end she was still just as useless as she was back then.

Fear.

She was afraid. Afraid of starting again. She was tired. So very tired. All she wanted to do was give up. To go to sleep and never wake up ever again. Oh god she was so lonely.

"I JUST WANT TO DIE! WHY WON'T YOU LET ME DIE?" she wailed.

Anguish overwhelming her, she launched downwards in one final flash of brilliant black. There was no rhyme or reason to her attack, it was little more than a desperate plea from someone who didn't care anymore. The roar of thunder caught up to her as she smashed into Emmery with her fist, piercing through the Katrian's girl's stomach like the useless sack of meat it was. Her hand shook with an incomprehensible mix of rage, pain, elation, and terror as she wrenched it free. It glistened with blood and Layla couldn't help but stare at it for a moment. It was enthralling, had she really done that? Killing had been a part of her from round one, but this was something different entirely. It was so far away, like Lily wasn't even there. Where was she? Who was she? How many times had she done this? how many times had she failed? She was a failure, a piece of trash, worthless, worthless, worthless. Why couldn't that be her own blood for once? Why did she have to keep fighting over and over when she was so tired? How was she supposed to keep going on, alone? She could barely even remember her name anymore, let alone what the point of it all was. What was she even fighting for?

"Remember." Emmery's words drew Lily back to reality. The Katrian's eyes were glazed over, like they had seen too much and gone blind to protect her. "Remember who you are, Lilith. She loves you. Don't lose sight of that. Before the beginning, you'll find your answers there."

Lilith wanted to say something, but the sight of Emmery's brain disintegrating through the hole in her skull made it clear that it was too late. At a loss for what else to do, she knelt down and closed the girl's eyes, those eyes that had seen far too much. Emmery was right, she had to remember how this all began. she had to keep track of why and how she had gotten here, because otherwise all of the terrible things she'd done would be for naught.

{...}

All of the blood she'd spilled. It was all for Arturia.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Astarte

Taking a brief moment to glance at Teya, Astarte simply let out a sigh before stepping forward, standing next to the information dealer, and just out of range of the cutlass, "Spackle, was it? Teya's with me, and I believe the information we're offering is fairly vital to your captain's operations. Especially since it has to do with a trade deal she's been securing lately" Astarte began, face and breathing as still as ever as she concentrated on both the surroundings and the woman in front of her. The danger buzzing in her neck had not yet stopped, and thus, she had to make sure she was ready for anything. She just had to stay in her current state of mind,

"... Regardless, we'd prefer to speak to the captain soon, rather than later. So I'd believe it would be in all of our best interests if you'd step aside."

[Glass]

Silvia

What the actual hell was that girl doing.

Oh, Silvia was definitely feeling like something was horribly wrong. Her eye - the girl was wielding it like a weapon, wielding her glare like a goddesses-damned blade.

But seriously, what was she doing. Nobody gestured that way. Nobody talked that way. What was she doing?
...meister. Had to be a Lanican meister. Only meisters behaved like that. And she was suspicious of them.

Which, fair. Silvia had literally been looking for their personnel documents, even stole one. But this was very not what they needed right now.

At they had an answer for her, thank the Goddesses.

"Neridus has- the Neridans can fly."

...she paused. Stared for a moment. Squinted.
"...is that the girl who was carrying all the papers? Who thought it was a good idea to give anyone all that? And why are you carrying her around? Shouldn't- she's still unconscious- where's the infirmary?"
There went her entire train of thought.


Jessie

Jessie stopped in her tracks.

How did she know that name?

"It also lets me read emotions pretty well, so I can see through lies."

Fuck. Fuck.

Or did they figure out some other way? What other way? Not like Lali could have known what her real name was, anyway.

"You shouldn't lie, Not-Alice."

Fuck!

Don't show anything. Don't show her you're affected. Don't show her just how lost you are, don't show her your uncertainty, don't show her that you have no plans and no ideas and nothing-

She turned toward Mirth.
"What do you-" Her voice cracked.
Damnit keep your tone neutral!
She coughed.

"What do you want to discuss?"

[Chevaleresse]

Lunete (& Silvia)

"I am carrying my loyal compatriot with me on my quest to deliver justice to a pair of conspirators seeking to take advantage of a 'lesser' country's goodwill." She pointed an accusatory finger at the Katrian meister speaking, managing to turn that and her fireman carry on Shinko into a dramatic pose. "You're telling me nothing about Neridus that I don't already know." Lunete spat the country's name as if it were the foulest profanity. "If you profess to be so concerned about Neridan weapons, why are you skulking through our halls in Lanica? I had a gun in my hand pointed at Neridus before you could walk, I don't need to be informed about their doings by the likes of you as part of some witless distraction from your own transgressions. So, pray tell, what, precisely, do you have to say in your own defense?"

[Glass]

Silvia

Silvia tried to parse what the mad meister had been saying.

This is my friend, who I am still carrying for no adequately explained reason because I prioritize stalking you over getting her to a medic, but not by so much that I won't try to do both things simultaneously and also less effectively. I don't like that you're going through my country's stuff. I already knew Neridus had air-stuff; if Neridus is your problem, why the hell are you bothering us? I have been fighting Neridus for a long-ass time because I am very old and I hate them very much (TN: perfectly fair, fuck Neridus!). Don't bullshit me, tell me what you want.

Silvia decided she wasn't qualified to answer that without exacerbating the situation. After all, she'd thought she had a good answer the first time and that fell completely on its face.
She gave Mirala a meaningful glance. This was what superior officers were for, after all.

[Takosher]

Jessie

"The kid, obviously." Mirth answered. Her tone was flat and disinterested, like she considered Jessie beneath her. "But first, I'd like to introduce myself." she raised herself off the tree and extended her hand, "Adia Farsign."

Jessie knew enough about big names in the underworld to know better than the shake that hand. The Farsigns were notorious information brokers and assassins. It also explained how she knew Jessie's name, it was impossible to escape the notice of the Farsign's extensive information network. If a Farsign was working for Mack, then a name was nothing, they probably knew Jessie's entire history, save for the parts blacked out by her weapon.

Adia laughed and withdrew her hand. "Well, at least you aren't that dumb." she smiled with surprising gentleness, "Don't worry, I'm just fucking with you. The family is behind me now. I know your name because we use the same service for fake IDs, that's how we found you. My name still goes a long way towards tearing tongues out for info. Just thought you should know you weren't fooling shit. We're about as tricked over here as a tipper is wet.

"You, on the other hand, are sopping. So now I'm here to flick the beans into that steel vault door you call a skull: We're not turning Farore over to the Neridans, we took the job so we could grab her before anyone else did. We did the same thing when we recruited Changer and again when we took you in. We didn't just recruit you out of nowhere, we were supposed to kill you. One of the banks you robbed had its fingers in a ton of underworld pockets, and those pockets were hungry for blood. And it sucks too, because you seemed like a good fit at first. Seems Lali even got a bit of a crush. But you just completely refused to trust us. So now, well..."

Adia pulled a gun out from under her cloak and held it in front of herself. She had a sorrowful look on her face, regret and disappointment. She lowered the gun towards Jessie, but the part that faced her was the grip, not the barrel. Three hash marks were scratched into the side, the number of people it had killed.

"You get a bullet and a minute for each member of the team, that's five now. Once your five minutes pass, we come take the gun back." Unexpectedly, she smiled again, "Starts when you stop talking to me, so if you've got anything left you want to say or anything you want to know about the girl, this is your last chance.

Astarte

"I don't give a damn who she's with." Spackle sneered, "She's not getting back on this ship, not after what she tried to pull last time."

The cutlass was waved threatening again, this time more towards Astarte than Teya. Diplomacy seemed out of the question at this point, whatever Teya had done clearly trumped any information they might claim to have.

Yava

Siren was already laying down in her bed by the time Yava shut the door behind her. It didn't take long for the girl to fall asleep at all, barely five minutes. Yava could tell by the rather distressing sound of groaning and gasping for breath. Had that not made it clear Siren was experiencing a nightmare, the occasional scream more than clarified.

Silvia and Lunete

Mirala could already tell there was no reasoning with the pickle-bearing lunatic down the hall. She carefully shifted her feet into a defensive stance as she stepped in front of Silvia. "I don't know who you are." she called, "But your leader gave us express permission to roam freely. Unless you're here at her behest, nothing we do or find is of your concern."

On Lunete's shoulder, Shinko groaned and rubbed at her face, slowly stirring from her unfortunate accident.

Mia

One of Kirari's tendrils caught Marionette's needle and suddenly the scene flashed away. They were in an alleyway at night, rain pouring down between the buildings and soaking Mia's bedraggled outfit, as patchwork as her body. The only light came from the back lamp of a shop, left on by the closer when she came out for a smoke. The closer being the woman Mia was devouring with her needles to recover from a clash with a Katrian meister during the day. Lightning flashed, revealing a silhouette marching down the alley. Mia knew the silhouette, feared it. The woman whose silence overcame her own. She had never felt so close to dying as she had on this night.

She raised herself to her feet and readied her Flesh Knitters to relive the fight. Kirari watched from the rooftops, where it was easy to see everything, including the fact that Marionette now only possessed three needles.