Chapter 7: Endgame Strategy
Blake had seen Ilia in a fight before. She was a natural fighter who wielded her weapon flawlessly, as if it were an extension of herself. But what always struck Blake was how intense Ilia could be. As she looked her friend in the eyes right now, she could feel every bit of pent-up anger and frustration Ilia held within herself: hatred for the Humans, despair for her parents, betrayal from Blake, anger with herself. She channeled all of it into every strike of her electric whip when she fought.
Blake faced Ilia down, knowing a fight with her was eminent, and Blake was terrified.
"I get it, Blake." Ilia said scornfully, glairing at her and Weiss as the two fugitives stood next to one another. "You don't want people to hurt, but is this worth it? Is betraying the White Fang, your species, worth it?"
Blake's expression was stiff, willing herself to not let her emotions take over. "Ilia, you and I both know the White Fang is not going down a path of equality." She took a deep breath. "It's leading us to war, and I'm done hurting innocent people, and I know you feel the same."
"But this is too far!" Ilia barked. "Siding with her?" She pointed her weapon towards Weiss, causing the white-haired girl to step back a bit. "Throwing away everything you've done for the Faunus for one single Human, making everything you've fought for in past all for nothing?"
"It used to not be for nothing!" Blake shot back. "When my father was High Leader, we made real progress. We changed the way Humans saw us. We were on our way to being equal, but now..." Blake shut her mouth, realizing her voice was shaking to a near stutter. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Ilia, this isn't a cause I believe in anymore."
After hearing that, Ilia's expression turned twice as angry. "Fighting for Faunus rights is a cause you don't believe in anymore?!"
"No, I believe in Faunus rights. I don't believe in violence against the innocent." Blake corrected her.
"Blake." Weiss' voice intruded on the showdown of words. Blake looked over to her and then followed Weiss' gaze to see two more White Fang guards coming their way from the staircase.
"Blake!" Ilia yelled for her attention, but before she could say anything else, Blake raised her weapon and pulled the trigger on her katana. She then appeared to burst into flames, causing Ilia and the two guards to step away in fright. Meanwhile, the real Blake and Weiss ran away, past the Blake statue still holding her dorm door shut, and around a corner. Up ahead was another upward staircase.
Along with three more guards.
Blake quickly took in her surroundings as the three Faunus ran at them, yelling and brandishing their weapons. She looked up and spotted a hanging light fixture and immediately began to unravel the ribbon from Gambol Shroud. She then tossed her weapon in its folded configuration towards the light, and it hooked on.
"What are you-" Before Weiss could finish, Blake tugged downward on the ribbon and leaped into the air, swinging towards the three militants like a pendulum. Before any of them could dodge, Blake spun and extended her leg, kicking all three of them in the face in quick succession with a single spinning heel kick.
Weiss stopped as Blake unhooked her weapon from the light. She looked down at the three woozy White Fang members lying on the floor. "Oh," was all she thought to say.
Blake turned and looked at her. "Let's keep moving." They continued running down the hallway and eventually reaching the staircase. As they sprinted up the steps, Ilia's voice echoed from behind them. "Blake!" She yelled, no doubt in pursuit of them.
Blake and Weiss reached the next floor only to be met with another group of three White Fang members, each armed with a sword. "Stop, traitor!" The one in the middle, a tall bear Faunus, commanded.
Thinking quickly, Weiss turned back towards the staircase and raised her rapier. Using the ice Dust in conjunction with her Semblance, she created a wall of huge icicles that enclosed the entire threshold. She figured that would give them enough time to take care of their new opponents while holding Ilia and Co. at bay.
The three sword-wielding Faunus charged at them, but both Blake and Wiess had the same idea. They both leaped over the trio, clearing their attacks, and landing unscathed behind them. The bear Faunus ended up thrusting his sword in to the ice wall and getting it stuck, while the other two simply turned back around to face them. "Stop!" The ram Faunus yelled, but Weiss once again used her Semblance to their advantage. She thrust the rapier into the ground again, creating yet another wall of ice between them and the White Fang members, enclosing them in a freezing cell.
Blake took a moment to take a few needy breaths. "Nice one." She complimented with a huff.
Weiss simply rolled her eyes and turned. "Can we please keep moving?" She then took off running again, with Blake following her. The hallway was somehow empty.
"The next staircase will lead us to the deck." Blake called ahead to Weiss.
"Finally." Weiss groaned as they began ascending the steps, their shoes clapping against the metal.
"What's you plan when we get up there?" Blake asked.
They reached a closed door. Weiss stopped for a moment and turned to face Blake. "I'll use my Semblance to repel to the ground." She took a deep breath. "I'll form some glyphs in a stair-step pattern so we can get to the ground safely."
Blake nodded, only to flinch when they heard the sound of shattering ice from behind them. Weiss' ice walls were not going to hold up for long. "Okay." Blake nodded. "Let's get off this ship."
Weiss nodded back and gripped the door handle. She opened it, allowing a cold wind to enter and blow the girls' hair back. The wind pushed the door from Weiss' grip and slammed open. Weiss then took a couple steps out onto the deck, only to see a sudden flash of red light towards her right. She turned to face it, but before she could see it's source, she was knocked to the side, yelling in astonishment as she was flung away from the flash. She landed in a heap on the deck, her entire body aching from the sudden impact.
"Weiss!" Blake exclaimed, hurrying out onto the deck. She looked towards the Human girl groaning on the ground and was about to run to her side when she heard a low, angry voice.
"So this is your idea of what's right?"
Blake's breathing hitched, her muscles tensing. Her heart fell as she realized who was here. She turned and faced him, a red-haired masked man with horns protruding from his head. The red designs on his mask and clothing were just beginning to fade, his sword returning to its sheath. He had used his Semblance, his Moonslice, on Weiss.
"Taking pity on a Human? A Schnee?" Adam growled, stepping towards her a bit, forcing Blake to step away. "Is this who you've become? A traitorous Human sympathizer?"
Blake watched him with wide eyes, arms shaking. This man, Adam, a person Blake had admired for so long, a person she had worked so hard to impress, now had hidden eyes trained on her, no doubt regarding her as nothing more than just another enemy. However, he wasn't Blake's main concern. Blake was concerned for Weiss, who had been the victim of a relentless strike from Adam's sword. Blake had seen Adam use his Moonslice before. If struck just right, he could make something, anything, or anyone, disintegrate. Weiss was still here of course, but there was no telling how badly injured she might be.
Blake couldn't speak. She simply stared at Adam, waiting for him to do something.
He stepped towards her, and in a single rapid motion, struck her face with the back of his hand, sending Blake to her knees with a yell. She breathed through her teeth with anger and despair, mustering just enough willpower to turn her head to look towards Weiss. Thankfully, miraculously, she was beginning to sit up, but was still dazed. However, her weapon was gone. She must have blocked Adam's Moonslice with it, which saved herself from harm, but destroyed the rapier.
What little relief Blake got from the sight quickly vanished when she heard Adam's voice again. "I always suspected you lacked conviction. You never had faith in me, in any of us. Yet you stayed. You abandoned your family, all to just throw it away for her?" He kicked Gambol Shroud right out of her hands, sending the weapon clattering away. He knelt and put his hand under Blake's chin, forcing her to look at him. He sneered at her tear-filled eyes. "I didn't want to believe you could be capable of something like this, but I made the mistake of trusting you." He then forcefully shoved Blake by her neck, throwing her onto her back with a thud. She whimpered, gritting her teeth. She wanted to retaliate, to stand to her feet and do something to defend herself, but she was too scared. She had always been submissive to Adam's wishes, whether it was to follow him instead of her parents, or to kidnap an innocent person. She had always willingly been in the palm of his hand, because she used to admire him so much, and she didn't realize that to be a huge mistake until now.
Adam placed his foot on Blake's chest, pushing some air out of her. "I saw the security footage from last night. To think you'd do something so boneheaded...I honestly wasn't surprised." He grabbed the hilt of his sword. "You're a disgrace to your people."
Blake struggled to breathe with Adam's boot pressed against her sternum, but she quickly lost all her breath as Adam slowly drew his sword out, the metal scraping menacingly as the red blade shined in the sunlight. Blake's eyes grew wide, fear bubbling inside of her. "Adam...please." She begged.
"You know the punishment for treason." Adam boasted, his sword Wilt now completely unsheathed. He held it in reverse, the blade pointed down towards Blake's face. Adam's face, while halfway covered, still gave off the impression of sadistic satisfaction, like he relished the feeling of punishing those who wrong him. "Your service to this organization was noble, but you've betrayed us." He raised his sword higher, preparing to strike.
"Blake..?" Came Weiss' faint voice, just gaining her wits.
"No..." Blake shook her head as she looked up at Adam in horror, her body betraying her wishes to fight back. She was paralyzed and at Adam's lacking mercy. She awaited her fate...
"Adam!"
Before anyone could turn towards the source of the voice, a flash of yellow and silver shot towards the man. A second later, Adam's sword was clattering on the ground, with the bull Faunus groaning and grasping his wrist.
Adam's boot lifted off of Blake's chest, allowing her to roll away from him. She couldn't will herself to her feet quite yet, still too terrified to calm her shaking limbs. All she could do was turn to see who had intervened.
Ilia had found her way onto the deck, probably via air duct once again, and had appeared just in time to see Adam preparing to stab Blake. Without thinking, she disarmed her leader with a single sling of her whip.
Ilia was very, very angry.
Adam looked at her, enraged. "Ilia! What are you doing?!"
"You were going to kill her!" Ilia screamed, somehow with far more intensity in her voice than Adam's. She was crying, tears of anger streaming down her face. She had turned completely white, with the veins in her arms and neck a very visible blue, her eyes red as blood. Blake had never seen her so distraught and outraged. It sent a chill down her spine.
"She's committed the worst act of defiance imaginable!" Adam yelled at Ilia, stepping towards her. His hair and clothing once again began to glow red. "The only worthy punishment is execution!"
"I won't let you kill her!" Ilia rasped, visibly shaking. She lifted her weapon, the sharp end pointed towards him. "You monster!"
Adam immediately turned away with a frustrated roar, looking for his sword. He spotted it on the floor and stepped towards it, only for it to be picked up by none other than Weiss Schnee. She held it in front of her, trying to adjust to the sheer length of the weapon. Weiss looked him in the face, squeezing the hilt. "Don't even try."
Adam took several rapid breaths, staring at Weiss Schnee with disgust. "How dare you." He clenched his fists, only for his hands to suddenly unclench and shake violently. An unpleasant burst of electricity took over Adam's body, every single muscle tight and immobile. He then collapsed to his knees as Ilia's whip retreated from him, pockets of smoke billowing from his back. He wobbled as he knelt, as if he could fall over at any moment.
Blake took in the scene before her. Ilia had just electrocuted Adam to the point of collapse, and Weiss had been audacious enough to grab Adam's prized weapon and threaten him with it. The most incredible part of all of this was Adam, on his knees, motionless besides his shoulders rising and falling as he took shaky breaths.
The scene remained that way for a few more seconds before Ilia, seeming to overcome her own disbelief of her own actions, yelled with rage. She lunged at Adam with her weapon.
"Ilia, don't!" Blake yelled, but Ilia didn't slow down. The end of her weapon was heading straight for Adam's head.
Ilia would have skewered Adam through the neck had Weiss not intervened. Using Adam's blade, she knocked Ilia's weapon away. It landed at Blake's feet.
Ilia turned and looked at Weiss, anger still present, still completely white. "Why did you stop me?" Her voice rumbled with bubbling rage.
Weiss didn't have an answer. She simply didn't want to see someone, even Adam, get kabob'd through the neck. She looked at Ilia with a steely expression, dropping the sword. "Just calm down."
Ilia shook her head. She let out a loud cry and pushed Weiss away. She swung her leg towards the defenseless bull Faunus kneeling on the ground, kicking him in the face mercilessly. Adam grunted as he veered backwards, landing on his back. His mask shattered, revealing his seldom seen face. His eyes were closed, his expression lax. He was out cold.
Ilia stared down at him for a few moments, her skin slowly turning from white back to its usual tone. Her breathing gradually settled, her shoulders slumping. She then looked from Adam to Blake, who still sat on the ground, stunned by what had just transpired before her. Ilia sprinted to her, sliding to her knees and capturing Blake's shoulders into a tight, desperate hug. "I'm so sorry." She croaked, beginning to cry again. "I...I didn't think...Adam would do that. I..." She buried her face in Blake's neck. "I thought you were going to die."
Blake allowed herself to finally relax, wrapping her arms around her friend. "I'm sorry, too." She was still too shocked to cry or express any adverse emotion. All Blake could do was enjoy this hug with someone she had thought would never forgive her after her betrayal.
"I don't want to lose you." Ilia murmured, physically trembling. "I can't lose you."
Blake felt a massive wave of remorse at hearing her say that. Ilia was Blake's best friend, and Ilia no doubt thought of her the same, but the way she had said that made Blake realize that perhaps Ilia's true feelings went deeper than friendship. Ilia had been terrified of losing her. She was admirably willing to fight Blake in the name of what she believed in, but there was no changing the fact that Ilia had been scared. Then she saw Blake on the ground under Adam's boot, seconds away from an impromptu execution, and that broke her. Ilia gave up any Fang ideals she held to save Blake, all because she cared about her that much.
"I don't want to lose you either." Blake said back to her, squeezing Ilia in her arms.
Weiss looked at them, relief evident on her face, but she soon became worried again as she heard noise coming from the staircase from which they had come. Reinforcements were approaching. "Blake!" Weiss called.
Blake and Ilia broke their embrace, looking towards the doorway. They could hear the noise as well, the rumbling footsteps and angry shouting.
"We need to get moving." Weiss said, shutting the door and using her Semblance to create a small glyph around the door handle. "That won't hold for long." She ran over to the railing, looking over the edge of the airship. They were hundreds of feet high, but Weiss easily produced enough Barrier Glyphs to make an oblong staircase downward, each glyph about a meter in diameter. She then turned to look at Blake. "Just follow my lead." Weiss then hopped over the railing, falling to the first glyph.
Blake watched Weiss do this, then looked back at Ilia. She held her friend's shoulders. "Will you come with us?" She asked in a begging tone.
Ilia held her breath, trying to form an answer. She looked back at the unconscious Adam and, in typical Ilia fashion, chuckled. "Well, I kinda already kicked the leader in the face. I don't think I'm welcome here anymore."
Blake responded with a light laugh, feeling a wave of happiness at not having to leave Ilia behind. Blake stood to her feet and helped Ilia follow suit. She smiled at her. "Okay. Let's get out of here."
Both girls flinched violently when a sudden loud banging sound came from the door. They looked over to see the door bowing outward, whoever was on the other side no doubt trying to batter the door through. And they were making progress.
"Yeah, let's go." Ilia said quickly, then heading to the railing to see Weiss Schnee already five glyphs ahead of them. Ilia stared down at the large white snowflake floating and spinning in midair. "Oh man." Ilia mumbled lowly.
"We have to try. It's our only option." Blake told her, though she too was feeling just as unsure about these glyphs. You could see through them, after all, yet Weiss was having no trouble. She stood looking up at the two Faunus defectors, waiting impatiently for them to begin to follow.
Ilia sighed and nodded, picking her weapon off the ground and attaching it to her belt. This reminded Blake to retrieve her own weapon. "Alright." Ilia shrugged before another ram of the metal door gave her goosebumps. She shook her head and looked at Blake with an incredulous smile. "I may die, so if there's anything you need to say to me that you've never been brave enough to bring up, now's the time."
Blake allowed herself to smile an authentic grin. "Well, I've always admired your sense of humor." Blake shrugged.
Ilia rolled her eyes playfully. "Well, thanks." She then gripped the railing and prepared to jump. "See you down there." She then leapt over the rail and fell.
Blake watched her flip in the air and then land on her feet on the first glyph. Ilia stood and stumbled, doing her best to gain her bearings on the spinning white platform. She then looked to the next glyph and ran, hopping down to it.
Another slam on the door made Blake cringe. She decided not to linger, and she vaulted over the rail. She was irrationally expecting to just fall through the glyph and plummet to the ground, but she thankfully landed on her feet on the first glyph. It was so strange. It felt like standing on any normal surface, but the snowflake rotated under her feet. "Woah." Blake said to herself.
"Come on!" Ilia called from a few more glyphs away. She was running from glyph to glyph, making her way down the makeshift staircase.
Blake sighed to steady herself, and she began to follow. It was rather easygoing, but still very strange. She was essentially running on air, hundreds of feet high.
The drone of the airship gradually faded as the three descended towards the surface of Remnant. Blake noticed as she ran that the glyphs behind her began to disappear. Smart thinking by Weiss, since now they could not be followed. There was nothing else to do except make it to the ground.
At that moment, Blake realized that she had succeeded, and it had gone better than expected (except the Adam confrontation). Not only had she and Weiss escaped, but Ilia was coming, too.
For the first time in days, Blake felt legitimately happy.
After another three minutes of running, the three of them finally reached the ground. They were now in the middle of a grassy forest, tall trees interspersed with bushes, rock formations and sporadic clearings. They all took a moment to catch their breath after the intense running session. Ilia sat on the ground, legs outstretched while Weiss doubled over and leaned on her knees, taking in greedy gasps. Blake leaned against a tree, head turned downward with exhaustion. She was sweating immensely underneath her pajamas, which, Blake now realized, was now the only outfit she owned.
The three of them gradually regained their breath, leading to an awkward silence between Weiss, her kidnapper, and her former warden. They looked between one another, Ilia subconsciously gravitating towards Blake before standing next to her. "So," Ilia began. "What do we do with her?" She asked Blake, looking towards Weiss.
Weiss' face twisted with displeasure. "Seriously? How about thanking me for saving your asses just now?!" She looked down as herself, her white prisoner garb sticking to her damp skin.
Ilia sighed with annoyance, but nodded reluctantly. "Thanks, Schnee." Blake elbowed her forcefully, causing Ilia grumble with annoyance. "Thanks, Weiss." She corrected.
Weiss huffed a chuckle. "Yeah." She crossed her arms, then glanced towards Blake. They made eye contact for a half-second before they both broke it off, looking down.
Blake didn't know what to say to Weiss. She had freed her, but that didn't change the fact that she was the one who put Weiss in this situation in the first place. Blake could hardly expect a thank you from Weiss. She was honestly expecting Weiss to turn and run at any moment.
"So what do we do now?"
Blake and Ilia looked up at the heiress, both with confused expressions. "Huh?" Ilia asked. "What do you mean what are we gonna do? Aren't you gonna run back to Atlas?"
Weiss scoffed, holding her hands up. "I have no way of getting back to Atlas right now! I have no access to money or a Scroll. My best option is sticking with you two until I find a route home."
Blake was about to offer her Scroll to Weiss, but she then realized that she had left it back on the ship. Blake mentally cursed. At least she was wearing shoes.
Ilia groaned, reaching into her pockets. "I left my Scroll in my fucking uniform." She turned to look at Blake. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm with the Human. We gotta do something, preferably involving getting out of these woods and finding civilization."
"While also staying out of the White Fang's sight." Blake added, looking towards the sky. The airship hovered above them. "I think we should start moving."
They all agreed and began trekking through the wilderness.
Weiss began to realize the severity of her current situation. She was stranded in a forest with no knowledge of their actual location, and the only other people there were the person who had kidnapped her and the person who had slashed her throat. To make matters worse, Weiss had no money, no means of communication, and the only clothing she had were the smelly white pajamas she was wearing. To put it frankly, Weiss was highly concerned about everything about this. At least her two allies were capable fighters. In the event of a Grimm encounter, they wouldn't be in too much danger.
They were heading in no particular direction. Their movements were mostly decided by how thick the canopy of trees were. They kept to the shadows to avoid any eyes in the skies, since the White Fang was obviously gearing up for a full-blown manhunt, judging by the growing number of airships flying around. Blake remembered back to the Fang's plan in the event of Weiss escaping. This location was chosen specifically because it was far away from any village or other established refuge. The drawback was the vast forest. To the White Fang, Weiss, Blake and Ilia could be anywhere, so gratuitously combing over the forest from above was the most effective method of searching, since sending out ground-based search parties would be futile since they did not have anywhere near the necessary personnel to thoroughly search this entire region, at least that's what Blake hoped for. However, that didn't necessarily mean the three girls were in the clear. Again, they also had no clue where they were or where they were headed. This trek could take days, even weeks, and they had no food, no water, no supplies of any kind except for Blake and Ilia's weapons and the Dust housed within them. For the foreseeable future, Weiss, Blake and Ilia would be roughing it, improvising a survival plan and gaining sustenance from the environment, all while running from the White Fang.
Weiss stared towards the horizon as the sun began to set. She stopped for a moment as Blake and Ilia continued on, not noticing her idling. Weiss took a moment to truly grasp what she was about to experience...
Damn, she thought to herself. This just might be worse than being a hostage.
"Hey," Blake called back to her, breaking Weiss' bout of worry. The heiress looked towards Blake. "Come on. We need to find a place to settle for the night."
Weiss stared at her for a couple seconds, going over everything this girl had done, the pain and distress Weiss had gone through because of her. Yet now, Blake was trying to help her, even if it was out of necessity. Blake obviously was concerned for Weiss' well being, and Weiss could not help but feel grateful for that...even though Weiss still kinda sorta hated her. "Alright," Weiss said back, walking quickly to catch up. "Maybe we can find a soft patch of grass to sleep on."
End of PART I
PART II SUMMARY: Blake, Weiss and Ilia now must outrun and outmaneuver the White Fang and find a way to civilization. Now that they are unlikely allies, the three girls will begin to uncover more about one another and learn about each other's lives. Someway, somehow, they will begin to see their world differently by seeing it through one another, and the most unlikely of bonds will begin to take shape.
((I hope you've all found the chess-inspired chapter titles charming. Some of them were more creative than others, obviously. Now that Weiss, Blake and Ilia have escaped the White Fang, the "game of chess" has ended, along with the chess-themed chapter titles.
Thank you to everyone who has Reviewed, Favorited, and/or Followed this story! You all have provided me with the motivation to continue writing. Writing is something I love, and receiving constructive criticism and praise helps me become even better and to take some pride in my work. I hope you all have enjoyed this story through its first part, as imperfect as it is, and I hope you all stick around for the follow up. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated. Let me know what you think of the chapter, what you liked and disliked, ask questions, or just leave something encouraging. Any form of feedback is worth gold to me.
Part II is soon to come! Once more, thank you!))
