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Alexia And TANG Discussion

Alfred stared at Noa with an annoyed expression. He was certainly not in the mood for this. "Noa, this isn't the time for your stupid name-calling arguments, I have a job I need to-" Al was stopped mid-sentence by Alexia appearing in front of them.

"Are those orders, your majesty?" He frowned and folded his arms, from her emotional outbursts he could guess what disobeying her on this matter would mean and he did not want to have his knighthood revoked now. He waited for her answer and answered. "Fine, you go to your team as well, but please don't do anything too reckless. You're a smart person, think before you act"

He turned to Noa, sighed and gestured for her to walk with him. "Let's go back to the team then, we need to plan our direction"

Once they walked out of Alexia's earshot the knight spoke to his second. "Man that girl doesn't realize how much of a leash she has on me does she? That princess is one of a kind" he inhaled slowly and exhaled. They soon approached Stormer and Grigori and Al spoke to them. "Alright, changes in plans, we'll go regular, I've been ordered by Alexia that I can't do my freakin' job or I'm likely fired"

"Anyway, we need to plan what we're doing. I'm voting we go after Alexandros, the others are likely to go to the village or Arcana and they already have specialist support on that side, if we're looking at this strategically here, that man needs to feel some kind of opposition and if we're smart enough, we might avoid a physical fight"

"What do you all think we should do? This is an important mission seeing as even the goddamn queen came here, so our decision shouldn't be from one person"

edited 3rd Dec '15 5:46:27 AM by LiorVal

"I had my fair share of taking down shady businesses, but this Max guy seems like my biggest catch." the sniper replied, "I'm game for taking that punk down."

Elevator

Ai shuffled between her group and team GRAY, giving Hope a slight nod. "I wanna come with," she said. "I'd like to see Shane again, maybe find out what he's up to now."

This was a whole lot to process in a very short space of time. What possible reason could anyone in Arcana have for attacking Shane? Did they think he was tied to Alexandros? After learning the truth about her, the prospect of meeting Marianne again brought up awful anxious feelings that settled in Ai's stomach. Ai leaned back against the railing of the elevator and crossed her arms.

"And Mari's got some 'splaining to do. I wanna have some words with her," Ai said. She uncrossed her arms and cracked her knuckles. "My fists might get involved."

She stood and gingerly massaged the spot where the railing had been pressing against her tail.

"Charisse, Mau, Glen, what about you guys? It's gonna be rough going up to the highlands. That's a whole can of worms we don't wanna open yet, 'cause if anyone up there recognizes Glen, the whole mission is bust."

And Back up the Elevator

Before NAMI had even taken a few steps out, Alexia had made sure Alfred attended to his team when it came to these mission assignments. Which is a good thing, Pius thought as Alfred and Noa went up the elevator back to Ozpin's office. While they're...alright...they need to learn to take care of their own as well. With a quiet gesture, Pius got his team back into the elevator, having made his decision.

Reentering Ozpin's office, Pius stepped forward and gave his superiors a polite nod. "We've decided to investigate the matter with the villages. We know that Alexandros and Arcana are a threat right now, but innocent people are being harmed right now by an unknown force. We can investigate and deal with the threat if we come across it."

Decision

Yun turned to his team, mood slightly sobered by what he had heard. "What do you think we should do?" He asked. "Personally, I want to investigate the village, but I also want to hear your opinions."

TANG Discussion

Stormer was surprisingly silent during the queen's explanation of everything that was happening, listening very carefully. But when it came time for his team to discuss amongst themselves which mission to go on, he finally spoke up.

"For once, I think we agree on something, Alfred.", Stormer chimed in, "As much as I would prefer saving the villages or stopping whatever the Arcana are doing, those two jobs are already being taken care of. Besides, we can't just let him ship all those weapons unchecked."

...and not a single good one

Sechs leaned back and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. This whole thing was a mess. Thankfully, he knew his priorities.

"I'm with you. As important as these other tasks might be, i can't sit around and watch innocent people get slaughtered."

Elevator

"I still want to go to the highlands... punch that bastard Alexandros in the face with my actual fists but... I mean.."

Charisse clenched and unclenched her fists, then looked at Ai directly. "Mia should meet her mother again.. and I want to stay with you so.. I guess we could go to Shane."

She took a few steps toward Ai and wrapped her up in a tight hug. "If anything happens.. if I lose control.. I'm sorry."

Ultimatum?

Frowning, Glen said "We're nae goin' north an' that's final. It's too close tae my clan- my former clan's territory an' those allied wi' them." Growing somewhat quieter, Glen added "An' if I'm seen by any o' the clansmen see me on their territory..." The Highlander didn't even bother finishing his sentence as he trailed off.

Turning to Ai, Glen quickly changed the subject by asking "You're my second, what do you propose we do?"

edited 3rd Dec '15 10:50:23 AM by Eachiunn

Hope took a moment to breathe, then looked at Charisse.

"...Mia, if you are there... you... you know we can't promise the safety of Emp... of your mother." She started, sighing. "Just... I wanted to address that."

FLRR

Rheia shrugged when Lucas suggested they assault the Arcana. "Any one of these jobs is as good as the other." Truth be told, part of her rather lax look at things was because she didn't entirely understand - or, given the fervor many people had called for Alexandros's death for - hadn't been here long enough to understand the real ramifications.

It was clear, though, the world was shit. A man experimented on children, a terrorist organization assaulted students at a hunting school, and the Grimm were destroying settlements even as humanity did a good enough job of destroying themselves.

This was what Rheia had signed on for - fixing all of this dumb bullshit. And hopefully, one day, exterminating the Grimm. She didn't know if it was even possible to do so given their ranks never seemed to run out, but a girl could dream, could she not?

Team SIGL - Decisions

"This business with the Arcana leaves me cold and unsure," Geki said at length. "I stand with both of you; we are Hunters. First and foremost, we are the Shields of the Kingdom. We investigate the village."

Team FLRR

Remus nodded at his teammate's decisions to pursue Arcana. "Normally I would help the villages, considering my particular background, but I'd say they're in good hands all ready. We do however need people to take care of Arcana, and I'm just as ready to take care of that as the rest of my team. I vote for Team FLRR to conront Arcana."

FLRR

"Dibs on the devil!" Jack said, he seemed I anything, surprisingly optimistic, as if this was going to be an easy match.

Flashforward, Debt

With the other teams gone and now alone with the royal family, Glen realized that if he was going to make his Debt known to them, now was the time.

Discarding his weapons and armor, though keeping his dirk on his belt for the time being, Glen began slowly making his way towards the royals. Pausing once, briefly to wrestle with his thoughts, mostly realizing that there was a chance that he would be shunned even further by his Clan and ancestors if he went through with this. After a long moment of deliberation, Glen realized that he no longer had a Clan or ancestors to be shunned by at this point, with nothing by The Four and his own Honour left for him to prove himself to.

Valuing his Honour above all else at this point, the Highlander finished his walk towards the royalty.

Stopping a few feet away, Glen began staring at the floor as he spoke "I... I hae wronged all o' you. I imagine you ken tae what I'm referrin' tae, so I'll nae go in tae details." An extended, awkward pause.

"My guilt, my honour an' the ancient laws of my people dictate that there is only one thing I that I may do at this point to redeem myself in the eyes o' the Four an' those who I hae wronged."

Dropping to a knee, still staring directly at the floor, the Highlander said "So, I, Glen o' no Clan an' son o none, now owe you an' your kin a blood debt. My life is nae longer mine an' is now in your collective hands, do with it what you will."

Well isn' this a braw way tae end it, kneelin' before a bunch o' southron royals. I'm glad grand da cannae see this, I hope.

"Suppose it's decided, then," mused Rheia. "You've all undoubtedly got more experience fighting them than I do. Any advice for the new girl?"

Elevator

"We just have to trust that the others will take care of it," Ai told Charisse.

Ai rested her head on Charisse's chest and folded her ears. Their hug was disgustingly cute and Ai made no effort to let go; she simply addressed the others exactly as she was.

"So we're definitely not going up to the highlands," Ai said. "That means our best bet is to see Shane."

She kept burying herself deeper into the hug.

"Hope, maybe you can't promise Mari's safety, but I know I'm sure as hell going to try. We'll make her come around somehow."

Elevator

Had Ai been taller, Charisse would have kissed the top of her head. Instead, she resigned to just scratching Ai behind the ears and running her fingers through her hair. One of her arms remained wrapped around Ai, which was really comforting for her.

She let out a calm sigh.

"I'm going to have to somehow prove that I've got her daughter uh.. living inside of me? No that's wrong she's a ghost I mean uh.. fuck.."

Her hug tightened up a little bit.

"Let's try not to go out of our way to challenge Arcana members," Lucas said, pulling out his scroll. "Not saying we won't have to fight one, but our objective is that machine. The less fights we can get into while the mission's going on, the better."

He sent a text to Imuka: My team's taking on the Aura Machine mission. Would you mind sending us the blueprints so we can find possible weak points?

Hope grunted non-commitally before looking at Ai, as if searching for something.

"If she will want to come around. Even then, we can't just ignore the fact that she belongs to a dangerous terrorist cell. You aren't just pardoned from something like that." She finally spoke, not looking at anyone in particular.

The reply was sent without so much as the fox moving her hands, nearly instantly actualy to Lucas.

"We have data on Luna's research, the Aura machine is not Luna's research, or even there field, I can see what Shane has when we go talk to him if you wish?"

At the same time Imuka finaly spoke up to the rest of her team, "I-I say we go visit Mister Shane, we can check up on him and make sure he is doing okay while we are there, he has a lot to adapt too"

Keepin' Up With The Team.

Finally catching up and quickly catching up with the general gist of the conversation, Falken matched everyone's pace, giving a cheerful whistle. "...Guess it sounds like ya all have it figured out what we're doin' then, huh? I mean, sure, I was kinda gonna go along with whatever since I'm sorta the newbie 'round here, but, hey, beatin' up Arcana would probably be more fun."

Of course, with everyone looking either serious or sort of worried, he just brushed it off and tried to keep smiling. Sure, most of this stuff was flying over his head, but...

"...'Sides, doesn't matter too much, considerin' all of us are goin' off to do everythin' at once, right? Ain't any reason to worry, I reckon."

Was definitely here the whole time.

Mau was more or less pressed up against one side of the elevator's walls, trying not to take up too much space. Not difficult, considering his build. He piped into his teammates' conversation, although he wasn't sure if his opinion mattered all that much when it seemed more or less decided. "Well, uhm.. I guess we should go to Shane, then." He gave a small not, having mostly just parroted his teammates' choices.

Novus 8: The Life Debt

Silence. Dead silence stretched on in the room as Alice and Lucretia regarded Glen. The princess was shaking, an expression of barely restrained rage on her face.

Alice had resolved to ignore Glen. To never even go near him after the incident on the mountain. But he was the one who approached her now.

Lucretia, on the other hand, had calm exterior. Her face was impassive and betrayed no emotion.

As for the subject of this debt, Erin herself, the girl simply stood and waited, looking through Glen's eyes for the first time at her original.

Her emotions were a mess, but she kept stubbornly silent in Glen's mind.

Finally, Queen Lucretia spoke. "You have offered us your life, and we offer it back. Rise and live your life in atonement. Serve this kingdom well as a Huntsman, that is all we ask. However, forgiveness is something we cannot give."

Alice looked ready to attack him but was restraining herself.

"Get out." snarled the elder princess.

Novus 8: A House Divided...

Urujauni, the Arcana's Lovers, may have been planning betrayal, but she was no fool. She had wanted to start her defiance early, but somehow information had been leaked.

It was easy enough to implicate Strength (who after all, really was a conspirator) to save the movement but the fact remained that they had been compromised.

Urujauni quickly disbanded her team. Any one of them could be a spy for the World. She had to lay low, obey orders.

As her father said...the snake needed to wait for the moment to strike.

Still, it frustrated her. She had been so close! She had even reached out to him of all people!

Patience was not something she was accustomed to. But if patience was required...so be it.

Novus 10, Friday: Beacon Skydocks, 7:00 AM, Divergence Begins

It was cold, Alexia thought. Chilly. That didn't help her nerves at all.

Alexia Vale was terrified. Tertified of what would happen to her friends. Terrified on what would happen if they failed.

But still.

It was the right thing to do.

That thought kept Alexia walking towards the skydocks, trying to be brave.

She glanced at Alfred, and she felt the odd feeling of loneliness that she had been feelibg since the island. She shook her head and pushed the feeling back. Now was not the time. She had to focus on the mission. She had to be at her best.

There was no way any more villages were going to be destroyed.

Finally, the unluckiest batch of first years Beacon has ever produced arrived at the skydocks.

There were four Royal Airships, armed to the teeth, waiting for them.

"Here we are." Alexia said, letting out a breath.

She looked at all her friends and almost cried.

"Everyone...be careful. We're going to see each other again later, I'm sure of it."

She looked at Alfred. "Good hunting, my knight. I...I love you."

She looked at Ai and Charisse. "Take care of yourselves, okay? Ai, keep Charisse from doing anything reckless. Charisse, keep Ai safe. I'll see you later."

She looked at Hope. "Be safe, Hope. You are one of the strongest people I know. You'll succeed for sure."

She looked at Noa. "Noa...watch over Al, please. I know I can count on you. Take care of my boneheaded knight."

A sigh.

Then, she smiled shakily at everyone.

"Good luck, my friends..."

Novus 8, Elevator

Ai flicked Charisse's forehead lightly. "Don't worry about losing control. I know how to deal with it," she said. "And I'm sure Mia can prove who she is somehow."

Ai willfully ignored Hope's words—that little bit of spoken truth was too inconvenient to address directly. Ai would deal with it when they got there, but for now she put it out of her mind. She wrapped her arms around Charisse's waist.

"Let's just...stay like this until we get out of the elevator," she said. She looked up. "Right, Mau. So, that's three out of four. Glen?"

so that Mia doesn't have to control Charisse's actions at the skydock

Novus 9, Thursday, Dorm White Rose, Living Room (6 PM)

The next day, Ai spent almost all of her free time taking care of the preparations for the road ahead, especially since Glen was often of little use in that regard. MAGC was probably one of the most disorganized teams in Dorm White Rose (Ai knew that her own general laziness was also a contributer), and it usually fell on Ai to check up on the others. This was probably going to be their biggest undertaking as a collective dorm since Operation Moonfall, so Ai had no room for error and not enough room to get ready.

Later in the day, Ai took a break in the living room together with Charisse to try to get some words out of Mia, who she knew was brooding somewhere in the far reaches of Charisse's mind.

"Tomorrow's the big day. Nervous?" she said. "I know you're there, Mia."

Novus 10, Friday, Skydocks (7 AM)

Ai woke up that morning in Charisse's bed, dreading the day ahead of them. She didn't talk much as she dressed into layers of clothing with a thick (cat-eared) hooded coat on top. She grabbed her pack full of supplies (and bombs) and followed the others out of the dorm room, joining them in the hallway as they left the dorm building.

At 7 AM, Ai and her team stepped onto the Beacon skydocks. Ai hurriedly stuffed another energy bar into her mouth, making up for lost time as she sipped from a thermos full of green tea. She looked up at the four royal airships, then sweeped the docks to get a look at each of the students present and waiting to take off. She could feel far too much tension in the air. It wasn't often they had to split up to very different parts of the world for very different reasons.

Ai packed her things and stuffed her hands into the front pockets of her coat. She breathed fog into the cool Novus air and huddled closer to Charisse for warmth. Ai could see just how nervous Alexia was from her outward appearance and manner of speech.

"Naw, this'll be a cinch," Ai said.

She gave Alexia an awkward thumbs up and a brave smile, but neither of these actions had any heart in them. The awful gut-wrenching feeling of knowing they might meet Marianne again still lingered in the pit of Ai's stomach, but Ai had no reason to worry Alexia more than she already did.

"Alright, everyone. Group hug for good luck?"

edited 6th Dec '15 6:24:00 AM by opnerf