Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-5999656-20161216022828/@comment-5999656-20161228052139

(It's really good! I was actually expecting you to be a little more violent, but this works just fine.)

Zanipher's smile grew only larger as Diaboli made the first move. She took a half-step forward and performed a clean wushu inside kick, slamming into the side of Bernie's neck and sending the boy sprawling laterally onto the sidewalk. She landed graceful, lithe, and looked at Automne, or rather, the blank space where the girl had been standing just a few seconds ago. The sound of a sword extending was audible in the silence after.

''Right. She's the better fighter, ''Zanipher thought, remembering the details Fen had given her. It was funny - her sister hadn't hesitated to rat on her friends once she'd been given the opportunity to enter a world of power play and puppeteering. Then again, it was probably to preserve her own privacy, not because she was okay with Zan beating them to a bloody pulp.

"Alright, take the boy then," she responded, and as she leisurely reached into her coat. A shimmered outline materialized behind her, and Zanipher's arms released red wisps once more. She turned slowly, to see the clear silhouette of Automne, caught in slow-motion, aiming a cut towards her neck. Calculating the trajectory of the cut, Zan pulled out her collapsed guandao and -

There.

- released her semblance, ducked, and unleashed a single rapid twirl as her weapon extended, the shaft slamming into Automne's legs as she offset the girl's midair balance. Even while upside down, Automne had her pistol in her left hand, and she fired several times at point blank range. To no avail, unfortunately, as Zanipher had sent a couple blasts of Ice Dust directly below her, sending three ice spikes shooting upwards and driving into Automne's flank. The girl released her semblance and slid down the backside of the ice wall, seemingly unfazed by the series of blows she'd just endured.

Bernhardt, meanwhile had stumbled to his feet and slid out his electroshock batons, and after a brief pause to regain his senses he charged at Diaboli with electricity pulsing down his truncheons.

Zanipher had taken chase as soon as Automne left her field of vision - no good to have a fox slinking away. She spun her guandao a few times, unleashing a small cyclone which quickly caught up to her quarry and launched the hapless Faunus right onto the gym rooftop. Zanipher was following a second later, clearing the height with a single leap as she landed a few feet from the younger girl.

"We just want to know where the footage is," Zan said, advancing as Automne scrambled to her feet. A blur of movement and something was flying towards Zan's face. She reached up and snatched the object right out of the air, without the assistance of her semblance. After all, she'd be a pretty lame Dragon if all it took was a projectile to stop her, right?

Zanipher unclenched her fist and looked at the object. A small, undecorated switchblade. Nothing special about it whatsoever. Her hand tightened around it again, and she squeezed as hard as she could, and there was a small crack. When she released her fist again, the three jagged pieces of the dagger clattered to the ground.

Since bragging out loud was dangerous, Zan had to gloat internally instead, as she gave a deadly leer in absence of words.

Automne dashed forward, ready to engage with her saber. Zan could see by the way the girl's balance was off, favoring her right side, that it was highly probable that Automne was already concealing some wounds. She slid her grip up the shaft towards the blade as she shifted the guandao back into sword form, and met the challenge with ringing steel on steel. A backwards sweeping kick failed to drop her opponent, as Automne leaped up and aimed a flying kick at Zanipher's face. Ever ruthless, all the mob boss did was grab Automne's foot and give it a vicious twist, bringing the girl crashing back down. A second later and Zan had brought the edge of her blade slamming down onto Automne's chest, and her solid blow was rewarded by the electric shimmering of a broken Aura, and a cry of pain from her prey.

Zanipher circled the girl, making sure to kick her saber far out of reach. She aimed another well-placed kick at Automne's flank, eliciting a sharp yelp. Best to make sure the enemy was downed. She placed her heel on the girl and pushed her so that she was flat on her back, and rested her foot firmly on Automne's throat, before leaning down.

"I'll make it clear. If you don't tell me where the footage is, I'll kill you now. Or, I'll let you live and kill Bernhardt and Fen, so that you can explain to your other friends how exactly everything happened. So what'll it be?"

(This confrontation between Automne and Zan is one I'd actually originally planned to include in my Zaniphilos fic, so I'm glad I had the opportunity to include it here. I've never had a chance to show Zanipher being evil, so this was quite cathartic to write.)