Chapter 4: Last Chance

Ruby

"Why aren't we receiving any signals?" Yang cried as she slammed a fist into the wall with such force that the entire room shook. They just saw the latest broadcast of Weiss' most recent torture.

"I don't know, okay," Ruby shouted. Right now, she really regretted her decision to let Blake infiltrate the White Fang. Why didn't she listen to Yang? Something must have happened, as Blake was supposed to constantly update them whenever she had the opportunity. She may lose two friends now due to her stupidity. "You're right, Yang," she whispered, tears building up in the corners of her eyes. "I should never have let Blake go alone."

Her older sister's stance softened. "Ruby, you made the most logical decision given our options. Blake can totally handle herself. She said that she grew up as a member of the White Fang. I'm sure we haven't heard anything because it's probably not a convenient time for her to contact us now, or perhaps there's some kind of signal jammer. She's smart. She'll figure something out."

Ruby didn't move from her slumped position on Weiss' bed. Weiss. Ruby missed her so much. Her mind kept repeating the gruesome images of the ordeal Weiss had endured. First her left hand, now her whole body. Whipped like an… animal. Unconsciously, she gripped a small handful of Weiss' blanket. What she wouldn't give to have the heiress yell at her for being a dunce, or berate her for some folly. Since her argument with Blake, Weiss seemed more… pensive. Both she and Blake. She felt Yang sit down next to her.

"Look, we can't let our friends down. You know Weiss better than anyone else, sis. She's so tough. She can make it. And Blake's doing her part. We've got to do ours. Tension is escalating."

"What are you thinking of?"

"A visit to the Schnee Dust Company head office, of course."

Blake

Blake kept mostly to herself, making an extra effort to avoid situations that would attract unwanted attention. It wasn't particularly hard, given that a large majority of members were out on missions that range from distributing looted goods to victims to bombing influential sites of gathering. Blake had been allowed to stay at their current "headquarters" to get accustomed to the ways of the White Fang. The White Fang frequently moved "headquarters" to avoid discovery by officials. Luckily, Blake had no issues slipping in without being identified yet. The White Fang had increased its membership drastically since she was last a member. Her recruiter must have joined after her departure.

She wandered around the facility, staying vigilant to any unusual activity and locations of higher than normal security. Unfortunately, nothing that she has seen yet suggested the presence of a high profile captive.

So far, she hasn't bumped into Adam yet, which was probably a good thing. There was no one who she worked more closely with than Adam. They complemented each other's fighting styles and shared a similar past. He was always like an older brother. Nevertheless, the two of them kept their conversations short. Neither of them are too fond of conversations. Perhaps that's why they worked so well together. It felt like a long time since their last mission on the Schnee Dust Company cargo train, even though it had barely been a year since Blake had left without a word.

As Blake neared her original starting point just over an hour ago, her heart sank. There were a few locked rooms, but they were either occupied for members or empty. It's likely that Weiss isn't even here. She was getting desperate. If she doesn't find Weiss, or figure out where she may potentially be, the heiress probably won't have much time left. She contemplated turning on her scroll to update Ruby and Yang, but ultimately decided against it. Blake couldn't betray the White Fang.

Muted shouts caught her attention, and noiselessly, Blake flattened her ear against the nearby door.

"Oh no, we're not close to being done, not at all."

Blake narrowed her eyes. She'd recognize that voice from anywhere. Torchwick.

Another voice. "It's getting much too dangerous. The police are much more vigilant now."

"So what? They're nothing but a bunch of dumb cops. Besides, we have an agreement. We still have a chain of dust shops to hit, as well as that incoming shipment to Vale. The mine explosion would make supply quite limited for the next while."

"And that brings me to my other point. The accident changes things. We need to invest our attention to dealing with the aftermath. We must act now to show the humans we mean business."

"No, this is where you're wrong. The chaos is exactly what we need. Everyone's attention is so focused on the aftermath, the strikes and confrontations, that they won't really realize what we're doing until it's too late."

Blake wanted nothing more than to tear into that room and show Torchwick what she thought of him, but she couldn't give herself away for Weiss' sake. She exhaled softly and continued to eavesdrop.

Weiss

She heard them this time before they came in.

"It looks like the Schnee Dust Company doesn't need a successor after all."

That man again. The one who seemed to actually derive pleasure from tormenting her. It was always the same three men.

Two always stayed quiet. A bull faunus with spiky red hair, and some type of reptilian faunus. They didn't need to say anything. Their hatred for her is evident in the vindictiveness of their rough handling of her.

The one who speaks though. The fox faunus. At first, Weiss ignored him, but it was getting progressively difficult to not be psychologically affected by his taunts. Since the morning of the rescue three days ago, Weiss hasn't eaten anything. The room in which she is currently held captive had a consistent draft. Coupled with the dampness and darkness, Weiss' worst nightmares, nightmares long suppressed, have resurfaced with the vengeance of scorned ex-lover.

"We're taking you to your execution," the fox faunus said with a tone of sadistic pleasure. "But we've got some time before then."

What did he mean? What did the fox say? Execution?

A hard boot slammed into her abdomen, knocking the breath out of her. The others joined him. Kicking her, bruising her, snapping her ribs. One of them stomped down into her right knee. Weiss heard a strange hollow crack. By this time, there wasn't a type of pain that she hadn't experienced yet. Maybe the execution wouldn't be such a bad thing now.

Although Weiss' luck ran out the moment the cave collapsed on her. None of the men eased up until she was uncontrollably coughing out blood and crying from agony. Only then did they finally stop.

Yang

"How did you manage to allude my security?" The CEO of the Schnee Dust Company demanded.

"You call that security?" Yang blurted, although she was halted by a very deliberate jab in the side by Ruby.

"Well, we are Huntresses in training, sir, so outmaneuvering hired guards is relatively simple when you grow accustomed to fighting the creatures of Grimm on a weekly basis.

"And this is all very fascinating, but as you can see, I do have a lot of work. Now please leave."

Yang had to bite back a caustic retort if she wanted Schnee to actually listen to them.

"Mr. Schnee, trust me, we understand how busy you are. We saw all the strikes and protests on the streets. We've seen the news coverage about the mass mourning. We've witnessed the regression back to the state of open discrimination towards faunus. And why? Because you refused to compensate for a devastating loss caused by the explosion of one of your dust mines," Yang said.

Anton Schnee chuckled in a bemused manner that was both condescending and scornful. "You are so naïve, girl. Do you realize what would happen if I met their 'demands?' Once they realize that they can achieve their means through threats and destruction, what is to stop them from always and continuously employing these terrorist tactics?"

"But it's your own daughter!" Ruby cried, stunned by the callousness of Anton's remark.

"Yes. But that should make no difference. We cannot achieve greatness without some sacrifices. And unfortunate as it is, to ensure the viability of not just the Schnee Dust Company, but of humanity's superiority, I have to surrender what is less important."

"Unbelievable," Yang spat vehemently. "Let's not even discuss how deluded you are about the whole 'superiority of man' thing because a recent legislature changed all that. I honestly can't believe that you're not even the slightest bit affected by the fact that these so called 'terrorists' have your daughter in captivity and are currently torturing her."

"Do you not think that I realize that?" Anton shouted, slamming both hands on his desk in anger. His voice was steely. "Do you think that I'm not aware of the plight my daughter is in? Of course I am. She is my daughter. I know she is hurting, and I would want nothing more than to get her back, but I'm also a businessman, and in business, we need to consider the bigger picture, which sometimes means cutting our loses."

"So that's it then. You give them the opportunity to torture her for a few more days, then maybe execute her."

"If she is truly a Schnee, then she will understand. And besides, she is much too valuable to them to execute."

Yang shook her head in disbelief. "I don't know what to say anymore." She was incredulous. If Ruby were in Weiss' situation, she would probably burn through entire forests until she found Ruby. And then she'd make all her captors pay.

"Perfect. That is exactly what I wanted to hear. Now that you have said everything you needed to say, please leave so that I can attend to my business."

It took all the self-control in the world for Yang to not unleash all her fury on the callous bastard Weiss called her father.

Blake

After Torchwick stomped out of the meeting room, Blake had kept her face down as he passed her in the off chance that he would recall their encounter from not too long ago. That was yesterday though, and she hasn't seen him all day.

There was an unprecedented buzz of activity shortly after noon. Blake braced herself for yet another cruel display of torture. Just like clockwork, the crowd gathered around the viewing screen, although it was turned off today. Blake despised the shallowness of such conditioning tactics. Even back when she was a member, any display of dominance over humans was celebrated and made into a spectacle. Executions. Tortures. It angered her that their retaliation and acts of revenge were no different than the humans' treatment of faunus. It seemed ridiculous. Childish even. This everlasting arc of violence and bloodshed. Adam always attended. She would always go off to read her novels whenever the crowd gathered.

Approaching the mass of bodies, she heard whispers of execution.

And then it hit her. The stage set up. The deadline of three days. It expires today. She was about to witness Weiss' execution.