"Get to cover!", the teenager in black jeans, black polo shirt and a ski mask shouted.
The teenager's brunette teammate, already in cover, simply rolled her eyes.
"Thanks, Yuki. Never would've thought of that.", the young woman shouted back.
The snapping and pinging sounds of bullets hitting the walls and ground were echoing around the alley, overpowering the thunder and rain. Here and there, sparks flew as the bullets hit trash cans.
"Never use my name! Do you realize what they'll do to me if they hear that?!", the taller teenager shouted.
"It's not like there's humans around! I don't even get why these trash cans are still after us!", the brown-haired teenager wondered out loud.
"Could have something to with, oh, maybe, pissing off one of the most powerful men in the city!", the masked shooter replied, reloading the pistol.
"Smart-ass! How can they get away with a shootout out in the open?!", the faunus questioned, hitting a puddle of rain water on the alley with her weapon.
The shock from the brunette's whip dissipated in the shallow water, but the old, refurbished Atlesian Knights stopped regardless. Yuki popped from cover and fired a few rounds. One of the security bots chasing the duo fell, another seemed to lose control of its weapon arm.
"I have a few ideas why! I'll be sure to share my insight if we live!", the gunslinger replied.
Having created an opening, the two dark figures dashed forward. At the end of the alley, the young faunus hopped to the side and electrified a stream of rainwater running from the alley. The last two AK's stopped taking pot shots at Yuki, their sensors clearly malfunctioning. The masked teenager spun around and fired three rounds in rapid succession. The head of their second-to-last adversary went dark. In a blink of an eye, Yuki had the last robot lined up. The young rebel pulled the trigger. Just as a round fired, Yuki heard a yell.
"Behind us!"
The redhead turned around, back against a wall. The flickering street lights illuminated a group of four well-dressed figures.
"Love the show, kids, but this farce is done! Mr. Schnee would like a word.", one said, a hint of amusement in his voice.
The faunus laughed. Yuki couldn't help feeling annoyed.
"Mr. Schnee… The man really has the perfect name. He is a Jacque-ass.", the brunette joked.
We're dead. She's going to get us shot.
The brunette was, despite the taunts, slowly lowering her weapon. Yuki followed suit. It felt odd that the faunus seemed to be purposefully placing her weapon very far to her right. Suddenly, the masked teenager realized what was going on. Unfortunately, so did the goons.
"Stop! Freez-"
The leader of the group didn't get to finish the command. The end of the whip was touching the water pouring from the alley on to the street. Seeing their leader drop to the ground, the three others charged forward. The brunette quickly flicked her weapon, swiping past the nearest suited figure. It seemed like she'd missed, until the weapon hit a street light. The light flashed, popped loudly, and went out. The same happened to a number of lights along the street.
Yuki, realizing that too much was happening too quickly, stopped and focused for a fraction of a second. The falling drops of rain slowed down, forming a trail of light around them. Sounds became low and distorted. A dark blue shadow, an echo, of the suited figure in front of Yuki appeared in front of the real, slowly advancing opponent. Where the actual black-haired woman was only reaching for her holster, the shadowy figure was holding a weapon. The masked teenager made a split-second decision and pulled out a telescoping staff. The weapon flew open to its full length as the teenager's left hand flung it toward the woman. With everything still moving in slow motion, the gunslinger checked on the faunus. The young brunette was in the process of stunning the goon in front of her. The third one of Schnee's hired muscle, a red-haired woman in a black suit, was advancing on the faunus.
The flow of time went back to normal. The goon in front of Yuki was only drawing her weapon now. Yuki's strike connected before the woman had a chance to aim. The wrist of her right hand couldn't take the impact. Reflexively, her hand pulled back and let go of the pistol. Coming around for another strike, the masked teenager's staff hit the left side of the woman's head. The impact made her slump to the ground, more or less unconscious. The strike might have left her with permanent injury. It might have killed her. The masked teenager didn't care.
She made her choice when she agreed to work for the S.D.C.
For a fraction of a second, something in the back of the masked teenager's mind was screaming.
Shoot her! She's S.D.C.! Just kill her!
The teenager stepped over the woman, advancing on the last opponent.
Don't. You're better than they are. Only cowards kill in cold blood. Only they would stoop so low.
The teenager couldn't help laughing at the irony of a human thinking like that while fighting humans.
"What the hell are you, kid? Deranged?"
The red-haired henchwoman was aiming her pistol at Yuki. The masked teenager, without wasting a second, swung the staff at her. Focused on avoiding the staff, she didn't notice the teenager fire two rounds. She screamed in surprise and pain as the bullets slammed into her legs. A powerful staff strike broke her wrist, and her weapon fell to the ground. Yuki stepped forward and kicked the pistol away.
"Deranged? Yeah, you'd probably see it that way. You're all the same. If it's the other side, they're evil. If it's 'your own people' opposing your tyranny, they're insane. And if you actually support the 'enemy'… You're a traitor to both."
The redhead scoffed.
"Support the enemy… You'd get along great with the Winterburns' kid. Still supports the faunus after what the Fang did. You're just deranged. That whole family was delusional."
The masked teenager laughed.
"Yeah, I probably would."
Yuki started walking away from the beaten security team. The brunette followed the masked teenager to another alley across the street
The faunus looked at the masked teenager, annoyed.
"Was that smart?"
"What?", the masked teenager asked innocently.
The faunus rolled her eyes.
"Idiot. You said it yourself. If they figured out you're here, you're dead."
"How would they? Also, which 'they' are you talking about?", the masked teenager smirked.
The brunette was getting aggravated. She took off the scarf covering her face.
"Take your fucking pick. The Fang is everywhere down here, hitting the mines. The S.D.C. security is now looking for us. Also, genius, your hair dye is fading."
The masked teenager took off the cheap goggles and ski mask that had served as a disguise. Using the goggles as a mirror, the teenager saw silvery-white roots showing under the dyed black hair.
"Crap."
"Yeah."