Author's Note: So it's been a while since I've posted and I'll have an update on my profile as to why all that is. But I'm back with a new story obviously. The first five chapters are already complete and updates will be weekly. This is an AU set after Beacon. Blake never left the White Fang, Weiss never got to attend Beacon and, as part of an experimental year, Ruby and Yang ended up on a three person team with Pyrrha with Jaune, Nora and Ren coming together similarly. There will be a couple of OCs in this story in secondary antagonist roles. They won't be too big a focus but they will be of some importance to the story. Lastly, big thanks to SAmaster01, Veloran and Bainbow for beta reading this story. Their input has been instrumental to the first five chapters and is greatly appreciated. All that said I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 1: Trigger Pull

As successful and advanced a kingdom Atlas was, it was remarkably monotone. The vast majority of buildings they passed by were generic industrial factories and emergency service stations, each made even less distinct by near identical blankets of snow disguising what unique features they might have held. Every residential home in the lower class district they had just passed through seemed to be based on the same foundation, the near perpetual cold making brick and cement the go-to building material. And every shop was exactly the same, making it seem as if a few exceptionally profitable store chains ensured they had a store within walking distance of every street, which actually was pretty much the case.

This monotony meant that Weiss Schnee was incapable of distracting herself from her thoughts. And so there she was, in the middle seat of an armoured Schnee company car. On her right sat a guard she was trying to see round to look out at her drab home kingdom, and on her left another guard, this one large enough that Weiss hadn't even bothered attempting to look past him. In the passenger seat sat her personally assigned escort, Adrian Chambers. And in the driver's seat, yet another guard…

Together they were travelling down empty back roads and quiet streets as they made their way to the hospital her father was currently staying in. Her insides were knotted; she hadn't seen her father since his admittance, and she had no idea what awaited her when she finally laid eyes upon him. Well she knew enough about her father to reason that what awaited her was probably bad, she'd still be practically imprisoned in Castle White otherwise.

It didn't take too much longer for the car to come to a halt, a literal squadron of mechs flanking the soldiers that approached the vehicle. Stepping out of the car, she met them halfway, feeling dwarfed by what towered above her. It was a monument to just how beneficial being amongst the upper caste in Atlas could be, a fortified hospital surrounded on all four sides by barbed fencing. It looked more like a military outpost than a health facility.

Of course my father would admit himself into the highest security medical facility in existence and hire a huntsman to watch over him, but let his pawn of a daughter travel with a meagre four guards… the heiress mused viciously but nevertheless followed "proper etiquette". Spine straight, head held high, tone only going beyond polite when the situations calls for intimidation, and emotions never going beyond professional.

"Ms. Schnee, you are here to visit your father, correct?" questioned a man in a grey suit, the only one amongst the soldiers wearing a badge that identified him as a doctor.

"Indeed I am." Weiss replied curtly and the doctor's head bowed, the atmosphere somehow dampening. Weiss narrowed her eyes; she knew it was bad news... "What's wrong?"

"My name is Doctor Albion Bosworth. I am the doctor responsible for treating your father. I'm sorry to have to tell you this…" He took a deep breath and looked back up, his eyes full of sympathy. "Mr. Schnee's hepatocellular carcinoma recently took a turn for the worse…"

Weiss' world stopped, her brain exploding in thought as she desperately tried to rationalise and justify. She was in shock, so much so that she didn't hear Albion tell Adrian that her father would likely die within the month. And that shock was born of the three words that had flashed through her mind the moment the news left Albion's lips…

"About damn time…"

It was no secret to Weiss herself that she wished death upon her father almost daily, but she always thought it a coping mechanism, passive aggression… She never believed for a second that she would be relieved and grateful to hear the news of her father's impending demise. She was suddenly torn from her thoughts by a hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at the source of contact, her personal guard.

"Ms. Schnee, are you okay?" His voice wasn't warm or comforting; it was professional, just the way her father had ordered…

"Fine!" she spat, jerking her body to break away from the hand. "I'd like to go home now…"

Adrian nodded at the girl who was already strutting her way back towards the car. Turning to Albion, he saw the doctor watching the heiress walk away, pitying her. He gave a second nod, one of respect and goodbye, before turning on his heel and following the young woman. He opened the door for her, and she hesitated.

"Could I have the window seat?" she asked, her voice low, weak… lifeless. He gave her a once over before clearing his throat.

"Of course, Ms Schnee."

The snow had let up, that was both a blessing and a curse to Kiera. Whilst it most certainly would make the impending mission much easier, she had actually been losing herself in the scene that had been outside her window for the length of… She checked her packet. She had one cigarette left. That meant she'd puffed away nine of the toxic things over the last few hours. She was perfectly fine with that fact; something was going to kill her eventually anyways so she reasoned she might as well make that "something" something pleasurable.

Were one to look at her, they'd likely claim she was stressed. And that her sitting on her window sill, knees curled up to her chest, smoking away as she admired the outside world was a desperate attempt to calm herself before the mission began.

And they'd be wrong.

Kiera contrarily had rarely ever been calmer. In fact, if anything, she was excited. Because today the White Fang finally began to truly ascend from the shadows, finally strived for true supremacy, finally gifted her, and all those Humanity had also wronged, the vengeance they desired. And the key to all of that was the girl in the car: Weiss Schnee.

The order itself came from Ivan Sabre, a member of the Triumvirate that had taken control of the White Fang twelve years ago and veered them towards more successful methods of gaining Humanity's attention. He told them to capture the heiress alive, and kill every last witness, leaving no trace. Or at least no trace that Lutolf himself wouldn't cover up to hide his daughter's kidnapping from the world.

It would be herself, Nightshade, Elysium and Taurus on this mission, the best four operatives that the White Fang had to offer. Nightshade, whom Ivan had always been most fond of, would be the one responsible for apprehending Weiss Schnee. She absolutely could not fail and Kiera had all the faith in the world that she wouldn't. Nightshade was her student after all...

She took another drag of her cigarette, finding bliss in the draw, and okay she had to admit there was a certain relaxing quality. Then there was a steady rasp on the door and Kiera smiled before blowing out the smoke, dabbing out her cigarette and flitting over towards it gracefully, unlocking it.

A familiar face greeted her with long flowing red hair, grey eyes, a pale complexion and two horns protruding from the top of her head. She grinned at the welcome sight. "Eli!" she greeted joyously, taking a moment to marvel at her dragoon's statuesque appearance and she felt the redhead's eyes roam her own petite body, built for guerrilla warfare and speed, as opposed to direct combat and strength.

Eli's eyes journeyed up the mess of colour that Kiera's tattoo sleeve had become after she immortalised one too many sins in ink on her skin. They lingered for a moment on the smaller woman's left shoulder before continuing upwards over short, white-streaked black hair, punctuated by white-tipped black fox ears, and finally meeting a twinkling emerald gaze. She smiled.

"Come on Kiera. It's almost time…" she finally spoke warmly, offering her hand to the fox Faunus. Kiera took it without hesitation and felt a playful tug pull her out of her home and into the cold night…

The journey back was tense, pensive and sullen. Weiss watched the world go by and lost herself in thought, so desperate to explain her sudden muse back at the hospital. She tried to say it was in jest, just more passive aggression. That she didn't mean it, that she did care about her father, and that she would cry at his funeral. But it wasn't difficult for Weiss to admit that she was lying to herself when she said those things.

And that was what scared her most. She truly didn't care. There wasn't an ounce of worry, a single tear of sorrow, an iota of sympathy. Her father was dying, and she was glad. He had stripped her dream from her, forcing her into a life of reclusion. He had beaten and cursed at her. And when she did find happiness, when she did find a sliver of freedom and comfort, he took that away too…

Lutolf was a monster in life and she had absolutely no doubt that he would be a monster in death.

"Is everything alright Ms. Schnee?" enquired Adrian apathetically.

As her personal guard, he arguably, tragically, knew Weiss better than anyone, so it actually came as no surprise to Weiss that he had noticed her withdrawal. Not that her aloofness was anything new, she just tended to actually try to disguise her body language. Something she was failing at presently…

"Oh yes Adrian, I am wonderful!" she fired back, venomous and snarkily, catching him by surprise as she betrayed her learned professionalism. "You know, this morning, I felt depressed and was plotting to kill my father but now that I know his lifetime of drinking's going to do it for me? I couldn't be happier!" She emphasised her point with a fake smile, one perfected after 23 years pretending everything was perfect. It dropped to a scowl shortly thereafter.

"Ms. Schnee, your father-"

"My father demands that you deliver me home safe and sound and make sure I do not end up like my sister. Now please, just leave me to my thoughts and do your job!" She turned her gaze back towards the scenery, the self-loathing seeping in. The guardsmen didn't deserve her fury…

She briefly caught her reflection in the window, immediately cringing away from the sight of her hair cascading down both shoulders, disgusted by the symmetry. She began to wonder why her father never sliced open her other eye…

Tyrannical, sociopathic, egotistical, cruel; these were all words that could describe Lutolf Schnee. They had been the reasons for every crime she had committed against the SDC and they would be her reasons for what she was going to do tonight, for tearing away a feeble old man's last remaining loved one. Whether that was reason enough... she'd find out in time.

Amber eyes glanced down at the gin in her hand. She wasn't much of a drinker, having barely finished a single actual bottle in her entire life. But there was something about spirits, rum and gin in particular, that always brought her back to the matter at hand, the bitter burn in her stomach corroding away all distractions along with her liver. She removed the cap and took a large gulp, her only reaction to the toxic liquid as it shot down her throat being a muscle twitch in her cheek.

"Adam requests your presence immediately, Nightshade..." The voice behind her was an unwelcome intruder, though the same could be said for almost everyone in this world.

"Good," she took another swig of her gin before finally turning, and the pair of intruders lowered their heads, avoiding their superior's gaze. "Get set up," she spoke with authority. "We won't need you for more than spotting, but the Triumvirate insists on a contingency against the worst case."

A contingency in case I fail them… she inwardly acknowledged before strolling past the duo, a sensual swing in her hips that came effortlessly. She never looked at her subordinates and merely thrust the bottle into one of their hands. "And do keep that safe for me…"

Arriving at a small clearing, their rendezvous point, Nightshade's eyes immediately fell upon two of the few people who meant anything to her:

Kiera, codename "D'blanco", a fox Faunus that had taught Nightshade everything she had needed to know, giving her the weapons she needed to strike back against humanity. And Eli, codename "Elysium", a ewe Faunus whom had endured years of brutal training with Kiera and had long since bonded with her on levels Nightshade couldn't even imagine. Presently they were a half a clearing away from her partner, Kiera pressed against a tree by Eli.

She rolled her eyes as she approached Adam, long since accustomed to Eli and Kiera's… public displays of affection... Adam glanced to his right, the corner of his mouth curving up into a half-smile at the sight of his partner. "You ready?" he asked, receiving a short pause from the girl as she exhaled.

"Yes…" she replied, the clear strain in her voice causing Adam's smile to fade.

"You don't have to-"

"Yes Adam, I do…" she intercepted coldly and sharply before glancing toward a desolate corner of the clearing. She spoke again, not returning her gaze to her partner. "Call me over when it's time…"

Adam watched his partner walk away. Her voice was always so soft and fragile; the decade of war she'd been waging never fully stripping her of the ability to mourn her enemies. He appreciated that, humanity had robbed him of his ability to mourn and regret long ago. Now, everything justified everything else in his eyes.

The next several minutes passed by in unremarkable stasis. Eli and Kiera continued to chatter idly at the far end of the clearing, knowing better than to try to talk with the isolated girl they had spent fifteen years caring for. Nightshade spent her time seated on the grass, gaze turned skyward towards the stars. And Adam watched his scroll, waiting for the go ahead from Overwatch. And sure enough it came.

Nightshade heard him coming before he arrived, but kept stargazing until she heard her name. "Blake…" Adam called. "It's time…"

Blake nodded. Her expression hardened but her voice remained soft. "Okay…"

Seeing Adam and Blake making their way over towards them was all the confirmation the two other female assassins needed to break apart from their light-hearted banter. Kiera's eyes met Blake's and she gave a small smile which the feline returned. Adam felt a small pang in his chest, unable to remember when he had last seen such a genuine, affectionate smile turned towards him. It seemed reserved for Kiera and Kiera alone these days…

Sensing the tension in Adam, Eli stepped forward. "So we ready?" All eyes turned to her and three heads nodded. She reached for her double ended spear, the weapon resting lazily against a tree and readied herself in a throwing stance, placing her oxygen mask over her face.

"Don't miss," spoke Adam as Eli crouched down before leaping to the skies, not offering him a response. Three heads turned upwards as she ascended to inhuman heights, eyes darting around wildly before she finally saw it: An armoured black car making its way down a barren road.

"She doesn't miss…" replied Kiera with a glint of pride. Eli corkscrewed in the air, bringing herself to an upright stance and drew back her arm, her tiny supply of oxygen beginning to funnel into her lungs in lieu of a thicker atmosphere. She threw her hand forwards, releasing her spear and watched on as a small burst of fire from the base propelled Eldritch Blitz, her weapon of choice, downwards. It crashed perfectly into the centre of the road, mere feet ahead of the vehicle. "Told ya…"

Eli landed several feet away from where she had taken off, her Aura absorbing the typical impact with ease though Kiera couldn't help but flinch. The redhead took a few moments to catch her breath, Kiera steadily moving over to check on her, with confirmation she was fine, the fox Faunus turned to Adam and Blake. "Let's move…"

Weiss' musings were brought to an end by the sound of Dust igniting in the distance. She heard Eldritch Blitz fire but it was too late, it always was...

The spear struck into the concrete of the road and the driver swerved wildly, narrowly avoiding the new object. The car banked to the right as it swerved, two wheels briefly leaving the ground. Already off-balance, the car continued to tip, rolling over onto its side with a loud smash before continuing its journey, momentum forcing several more rolls, Weiss being bashed about viciously in her seat.

When the car finally stilled, upside down, the guardsmen were dazed and confused but absent wounds and Weiss' head had pounded against the window cracking it slightly. They had all survived absent any blood being drawn other than what remained on Weiss' head after her Aura sealed up one laceration. "Ms. Schnee, can you hear me?" called a powerful, authoritative voice. "Ms. Schnee!" It shouted again trying to bring Weiss' attention to the matter at hand.

Her vision stopped blurring and she glanced around, noting how she was staring down at the roof of her transport vehicle, held securely in place by her seatbelt which had locked up during the crash. "Brace yourself." The voice warned before a brief tear was heard and the support of the seatbelt vanished causing Weiss to fall against the roof. "Kick out that window and climb out."

Wasting no time in arguing, Weiss pushed out her foot, heeled boot slamming into the weakened glass with a crunch, the cracks grew but the window held. She pulled her leg back up to near her body before thrusting it back out, yet again exacerbating the crack but not succeeding in shattering the reinforced glass. One last kick and it finally gave in, exploding outwards.

Awkwardly contorting her body, mindful of the escorts still trapped inside, Weiss set about crawling out of the wreckage. Panic set in when she was half-way out. She heard a sick crack, followed by a crunch, and a squelch. Something was happening and she couldn't see it, she could just hear the agonised screams, or the muffled gargles of people dying.

Hauling herself the rest of the way out of the car, Weiss turned to try to see something, anything, and caught a glimpse of a flame-bladed dagger as it slashed the jugular of Adrian. His blood froze over instantly and he fell limply to the ground. That was when emerald met azure...

Myrtenaster slid out from the car and Weiss clutched it desperately. "RUN!" a guard, presumably the one who slid over her rapier, called out as the fox Faunus sheathed her dagger and drew a hand cannon with a thin blue neon light spanning the length of the barrel. The girl took aim and pulled the trigger, Weiss narrowly escaping the bullet which exploded into a small chunk of ice, freezing over a section of the door panel.

Scrambling to her feet, Weiss took off at a run. "Blake!" called Kiera and the cat Faunus took off at a sprint after the heiress.

Weiss finally came to a stop near a secluded warehouse, swiftly realising that she had no idea exactly where she was. The sound of a gunshot rang out and she jumped, unaware of the kama now anchored to one corner of the warehouse.

Black skittered past her vision, the heiress' head jerking to the left to follow the movement. Her attention was drawn to the rooftop by the sound of the kama being pulled free and Blake took the opportunity to strike. Pulling on the ribbon of her weapon, she brought her kama to Weiss' face cutting across the distracted heiress' cheek, staggering her. Blake threw out her hand and a very life-like clone of herself dashed towards the heiress, tackling her to the ground before dissipating.

Weiss coughed and looked up at her adversary, a cat Faunus now wielding a katana. Blake reached back and wrapped her hand around the grip of a cleaver and drew that also. Weiss was alone, lost, cornered, and being attacked by a Faunus. She had no choice but to fight. The wound on her cheek healed up quickly as her low reserves of Aura went to work and she stumbled to her feet, her grip on Myrtenaster's hilt one of iron. Coming back to a stable base her expression hardened. She had to fight. She had to win. She had to…

Blake remained cool, calm and collected, lifting her blades and meeting the fiery ice of her mark's eyes. They were beautiful in that moment, such little things were never lost on the cat Faunus and she was grateful that she wasn't tasked with killing her. Robbing someone seemingly so innocent of life… Her right thigh twitched.

Her opponent glided forward, a series of white glyphs marking a path towards the White Fang assassin. Blake raised her two swords defensively, readying her blades in a cross formation to catch the rapier. The stab never came, instead the porcelain princess vaulted over her, a blur of white being all Blake's vision could pick up. She spun on the spot and Weiss growled inwardly, the opening still not there.

She continued to use her speed, now appearing behind her again but the two were a perfect match. Every elegant acrobatic manoeuvre of Weiss' was being perfectly countered with liquid smooth, barely noticeable movements, Weiss dancing around a lightning fast Blake.

Physical manifestations of shadow had begun leaking from the onyx-haired girl, making it near impossible for Weiss to tell which she should be targeting. The one time she dared attempt a strike, Myrtenaster cut through a shadow clone. It felt like she was piercing flesh, and it made her stomach churn.

Just as Weiss was about to surrender her onslaught against the girl that was exuding confidence despite being on the defensive, she felt a shift in dynamic. Suddenly she was actually observing her enemy's reactions, seeing the crane of Blake's head as she traced Weiss' movements, hearing the tap of Blake's foot as it contacted the ground not even a second after hers. Blake was falling behind; she was actually gaining the advantage.

Nightshade tried to remain calm, infuriation setting in at the thought of the girl somehow being a step ahead of her. Every time her defense perfectly matched her opponent's offense, the attack never came, the girl instead reappearing from another flank forcing Blake to swap her stance and position.

She had prayed Weiss would tire but she had remarkable stamina. In fact she barely appeared exhausted by the excessive effort she had to be placing in to move so quickly absent a speed related semblance. It didn't help that she had missed her chance. Weiss eventually proved foolish enough to strike and met a shadow clone. She had left herself vulnerable but Blake was facing away from the girl and couldn't capitalise that instant.

Falling behind, Blake bided her time, feet shuffling around to bring her face to face with Weiss whom yet again refused a poke. The heiress moved again appearing behind Blake and the Faunus activated her semblance. Her movements matched that of her shadow clone and yet she herself never fully turned.

Weiss, seeing the clone as the girl herself, whipped round to its back, Blake's front, and the Faunus leapt backward, pushing herself off of her own clone and landing nimbly some three metres away. Weiss cut down the shadow figure, nausea again creeping in, before realising her mistake.

Blake closed the distance instantaneously, another replica appearing where her body once stood. Weiss' eyes widened as the girl slashed forward, cleaver arcing through the air and clashing with Myrtenaster in a shower of sparks. The Faunus brought her katana down in a sweeping arc and Myrtenaster whipped from the parried cleaver to clang against the smaller sword.

Blake activated her semblance and soon appeared behind Weiss, the heiress pirouetted just in time to knock away the katana. The cleaver slice glanced off of a white protection glyph and the more experienced fighter grimaced before once again pseudo-teleporting around the heiress.

Soon, Weiss was being surrounded by a whirlwind of black, the girl in the centre seemingly a beacon in the dark fog. It was a parallel to their previous exchange, Weiss' subtle movements were in her wrists and Blake was actively attacking, repeatedly and frustratingly meeting glyph after glyph with the occasional desperate guard stance resulting in a black blade meeting a silver one.

Somewhere in the chaos, Weiss had predicted one of Blake's moves perfectly, a pre-conjured sigil rebounding the operative's sword. Weiss caught the hilt of her rapier and pulled the trigger, the silver being bathed in a luminous red aura. Blake was already committed to her next attack and realised her blunder all too late.

Black impacted with red, the energy emanating from the sword pulsed, and the sheer force of the blow blasted the cat back, the feather-light girl hurtling through the air before crashing into the warehouse wall, her vision darkening but the lights never completely going out. She fell to the floor immediately after with a groan. Her entire being ached, pain lancing through seemingly every bone, muscle and organ. If it hadn't been for her aura, she may just have been killed by that impact.

Hearing her attempted captor's cry of agony, Weiss swiftly concluded that she couldn't give up her current advantage. Mode set to light blue, she twirled on the spot, stabbing Myrtenaster into the ground and sending an ice glacier careening towards the still reeling Faunus.

The crash of the ice erupting from the ground snapped Blake out of her reverie, bringing her back to the task at hand. Not yet shaking cobwebs from her head, Blake instinctively rolled to safety, her body screaming at her for it. The ice slammed against the wall she had previously nearly smashed straight through, freezing over the fractured concrete.

Coming up to a stable base, Blake took the second she had been given by Weiss repeating the attack to recompose herself before dodging again. This time, when inertia brought her back to her feet she pushed from the ground and dashed forward, adrenaline helping to dull the agonising sensation of pushing strained muscles past their limits.

Weiss remained calm despite her surprise; she was actually winning this fight after all. Lifting Myrtenaster up, she conjured several orbs of ice and in the same motion jerked her wrist forward, commanding the orbs to attack.

The hiss in the air as the spheroids homed in on her didn't go unnoticed by the Faunus; in fact she was relying on it to direct her next move. At the last possible second, she hopped to the right, a shadow clone being reduced back to a dark fog by the first barrage. Weiss geared up for a second, and Blake this time contorted her body to let the crystal spheres flutter by her before taking a leap forward, causing them to slam into yet another amalgamation of darkness.

Weiss backed up slightly and launched forward a collection of white snowflakes, hoping the quicker and more precise bindings would actually find their target. Yet again however, Blake evaded flawlessly, her Semblance offering her the perfect defense against Weiss' seeker projectiles. The glyphs bound the arms and legs of the clone which dissipated immediately after and, soon enough, Blake had the distance covered. Weiss quickly changed the mode of her signature weapon and the exchange began, pain still racking Blake's body.

An overhead cleaver slice at Weiss' shoulder was blocked by the porcelain beauty's rapier, and a horizontal slash aimed between collarbone and breast was ducked beneath effortlessly. Weiss' fingertips pressed lightly to the ground and a glyph appeared, launching her into the air. She lashed out with Myrtenaster, attempting an upper cut which met crossed blades but nevertheless stole Blake of her balance.

Weiss landed and, seeing Blake's broken guard, propelled herself forward. The high pitched metronome accompanying Weiss' charge gave the black beast the heads up and wherewithal she needed to roll to the side. Myrtenaster lacerated her tricep and she shrieked at the skin being carved away, dropping her cleaver.

Her roll kept her alive however, and brought her back to a crouching position allowing her to groggily push herself to her feet. Weiss closed the gap and brought Myrtenaster purposefully toward the remaining half of Gambol Shroud. Blake, not realising the significance of the yellow hue emitting from Myrtenaster gladly took the easy parry but soon found herself disarmed, Weiss' agility overwhelming her. The Heiress was good. Real good.

Having exposed her attacker, leaving her defenceless and therefore vulnerable, Weiss went for the killing blow, thrusting Myrtenaster forward. Blake managed to bend her knees and drop her hips, once more Myrtenaster tearing away skin, this time from her left shoulder, but not managing to skewer Blake outright.

Her weak and pained left arm raised, hand clasping around the sharp blade and Weiss widened her eyes. The girl she was facing was stronger than her, she couldn't wrest her weapon away. Blake growled through the pain as she let the sword carve into her hand and lunged forward, throwing out her elbow.

Whilst she was too far away to hit Weiss, the heiress wasn't expecting a shadow clone to be conjured carrying Blake's momentum, crashing into her before immediately disintegrating. The blow knocked Weiss back, Myrtenaster leaving her grasp and she brought a hand to her already bruising cheek.

Not letting her last chance go to waste, Blake threw Myrtenaster to the side before pulling herself up and delivering a chamber kick. Though Weiss wasn't within her reach, she still felt the full brunt of the boot, a shadow clone poofing into existence to deliver it for the dark-themed girl. Weiss coughed instinctually and keeled over, clutching her stomach.

Blake had immediately fallen to her hands and knees but, upon seeing Weiss' vulnerability, she willed her body to work. One last strike was all she needed. One more burst of energy. Her brain listened, flooding her body with more adrenaline, numbing the pain inflicted by the heiress. She pushed herself back up and drove out her knee. Again, shadow generated near Weiss and an exact replica of Blake crashed their knee into Weiss' temple, sending her to the ground.

She recovered from the dazing blow to the feel of cold steel pressing against her neck. The girl above, threatening to sever her jugular at the slightest provocation, looked worse for wear… but she was the one primed to execute her. Weiss swallowed hard, feeling the blade bite gently into her neck drawing a small amount of blood. She didn't say anything to the victor, the laboured breathing being all that was swapped between the two before Blake raised her weapon and, quick as a flash, slammed it into Weiss' temple, the heiress falling to unconsciousness…