Chapter 14: Dancefloor Beat Down!
…HOURS EARLIER…
"Blake…are you… excited for our dinner?" Yang said, her hand carefully palming her scroll from Blakes view while trying to get video of the scene taking place. It was taking all of Yang's focus not to laugh as they sat in the booth awaiting their dinner. Blakes ears had been flicking back and forth and she had been constantly holding back from drooling since they had arrived at restaurant. The faunas was currently rubbing her head up against Yang's shoulder with her eyes closed and purring rather loudly, "I am so haaappppyyy to be here…purr." She looked at Yang with a seductive stare, "maybe I'll give you a treat of my own when we get back."
Yang began to feel the stares of several of the patrons in surrounding booths, they had turned to look and laugh at the situation, a few were using their scrolls to take video and pictures. "Blakey! people are beginning to stare!" Yang whispered the words into her cat ears, they immediately folded down underneath her bow and her yellow eyes to snap wide open, instantly she sat up and surveyed the room with a dangerous stare. The sound of chairs scooting back in place and conversations starting up around them was abrupt, Blake nodded in satisfaction with the change and went back to laying on Yang's shoulder…then their order arrived.
Steam wafted up from the seared tuna and salmon combo, Blake drooled down her face, her eyes big as the saucers the food was delivered on. Carefully, she took her fork and grabbed a small morsel, her eyes squinted close. "Mew!" She cooed in a high pitch squeal, Yang looked at her in amazement her cheeks flushed red in awkwardness. "Blake! Calm down, people will start staring again!" Blakes eyes open and her face tinged red with embarrassment, she picked at her food and began to eat in a more measured tone although she seemed to be having to really exert some will power to retain her composure.
As the minutes ticked by Yang looked up to see Blake not really eating, just staring off into space, her mind clearly lost in deep thought. "Is something wrong with the food?" Yang asked, her lilac eyes showing concern, Blake glanced over to her. "Oh! No, No! The food is great…it's nothing…just…" She stopped herself and shook her head and returned to her food. "Forget it, it's probably nothing." She returned to eating, but felt a hand grab her shoulder she looked up to see Yang looking at her with a raised brow and cocky grin. "We've been teammates for a while now and I know when you've got something on your mind, now spill!"
Blake leaned back on the red, leathery booth and let out a sigh, rolling her eyes. "It's just…the white fang…" Blake glanced over to Yang and saw that her smile was gone, replaced with a more concerned look. "It's with Weiss, it's just…"
"Look," Yang said cutting her off, "Weiss may be a Schnee and they may be horrible to faunas, but Weiss is different. She won't abandon you or me and certainly not my sister, we'll work through this together." Yang looked at her with confidence, but Blake could tell she was worried, when she had disappeared with Sun for a few days it had put a real strain on their team. This was especially true for Yang who was still technically her partner, it felt awkward without her and the first time Yang had realized how close she had bonded with the raven-haired woman. However, any fears Yang held were dispelled with a single hand wave, "no it's not that, it's just…the assassin. Who hired her?"
"Well you said you thought it was the White Fang, right?" Yang questioned while she scarfed down her salmon croquets, but Blake merely scowled and flicked her ears back. "That's what I thought at first and believed for a while, but when she attacked a few days ago I noticed something." Yang looked at her with wide, inquisitive eyes, between bites. Blake looked at her with confusion and frustration, "She's not a faunas, I caught her scent and she's definitely human." The words hung in the air as Blake waited for Yang to respond, but the blonde merely stared at her as if to continue.
"…and?" Yang asked as if still awaiting the revelation Blake had in her thoughts, the cat faunas smirked at her and rubbed her temple. "And the White Fang would never send a human to do a hit they had setup. It goes against their principals and beliefs."
"So that leaves the question still up in the air," Yang said in realization of what Blake was getting at. "Who really ordered the hit on Weiss and how did they get this particular assassin." Blake said in agreement, the two sat there in silence for a few moments before Yang got an idea. "I have an idea! There is a …place… I sometimes go to get information." Blake looked at her apprehensively but shrugged, "alright, pay the tab and let's go then."
…PRESENT…
SMACK! POW!
SHWING! SHWING! CLINK! BOOM!
"Ok Yang, explain to me just how the hell you get information from here?" Blake said in slight shock, her eyes darting around to check for any more targets, Yang let go of the last of the goons that had surrounded them as he fell into a state of unconsciousness. "Getting scared kitten?" She jested, Blake gave her a glare in return, "No! I am just saying there doesn't seem to be any body left to interrogate, and never call me kitten."
Yang frowned at the pile of broken bodies slumped around them on the floor, "yeah, too bad to I had a few puns I couldn't wait to punch out." Blake smirked and covered her eyes while Yang let out a hearty laugh. "Come on," she said grabbing Blakes hand, "there still at least one conscious body who might have some answers for us." Together they walked over to the bar, no appeared to be behind the counter, but one slam of Yang's fist on the bar dispelled the silence.
"Ah!" A man jumped up and looked at the duo in uneasy fear, he quickly then cleared his throat and tried to regain his composure. " Humph! Ms. Xiao Long, what brings you to my club this time?" Yang glared at him with fiery eyes, "Cut the suave attitude Junior! I have a friend in trouble and today is not a good day in trouble!" Junior gave her a coy smile, "Who said I was acting suave."
Click!
Blake had decided to add some pressure, Junior suddenly found himself staring down the barrel of her pistol. "My friend is in trouble, I have connections with the white fang and you've seen what the two of us can do all by our lonesome selves. If you like those odds keep talking." Junior threw up his hands and gave a nervous grin to Yang, the blonde merely flicked her head to move a few rouge strands of hair from her face and folded her arms giving him a cold glare with lilac eyes. "Weiss Schnee, someone has ordered a hit on her and we'd like to know who." Junior nodded his head in agreement keeping his composure and Blake pulled back the firearm much to his satisfaction. "So, the rumors are true, well girls I have some good news and some bad news." The bumblebee duo looked at each other and then back to Junior who had stood up and walked behind the counter and began to pour himself a shot of whiskey. He downed the amber liquid in a straight shot and looked at the girls, "What is the bad news?" Blake asked, Junior gave her a smile of pity as he poured another shot, "I have no idea who ordered the hit, nor does anyone of my associates know. That means you're pretty much looking in the wrong place, whoever ordered this is from a place of higher society." Blake gave him a blank look, Junior let out a laugh and shook his head, "look she's a Schnee, right? That means her father's got a lot of political and business rivals, popping off one of his kids would be a pretty good way to demoralize him and send a message for him to back off."
"Well what's the good news?" Yang asked, her eyes beginning to ting more and more crimson, Junior took a shot and then put the bottle and shot glass back under the table. "I know who might be able to tell you who did order the hit." Yang slammed her fists on the table, "WHO JUNIOR I'M LOSING MY PATIENTCE!" Blake looked at him suspiciously, but her ears began to detect something was behind them.
Click…Click…Click…Click…
"Her," Junior said calmly pointing to the dance floor, Yang and Blake turned around to see a familiar face alone in the arena. The assassin was wearing a red leathery suit, black lines accenting the suit and her ruby red lip gloss. She had a new scythe with her that was all black save for the blood red blade, she sauntered forward sensually and spun her scythe from hand to hand casually. "Ah! Nice to see you to actually in fighting condition, not that it's much of improvement."
Blake and Yang walked down to the dancefloor to confront her, "I was hoping for the Schnee and Summers kid, but you'll do." The assassin smiled cockily, stretching her muscles and tendons which popped and flexed. "In case you didn't notice," Yang said with fire beginning to lick the air around her, "we've got you numbered."
"Fair enough," the red-haired woman said with a grin, "but I've got you outmatched." She then whipped her scythe forward and held it out in front of her. "Time to dance with death," the woman said with a dangerous smile. Yang let out a snort, "You suck at puns." The assassins smile faded, "well…you suck at fighting."
Yang smashed fist her fists together and the fire around her roared to life. "That is debatable," Blake spat back, Gambol and Shroud out and ready to go. Slowly, Yang and the assassin turned to look at her, one with a smirk and raised brow, the other with a frown. "Really?" Yang groaned, Blake blushed lightly, "…well… I don't know! I suck at puns… you're the comedian!"
The assassin took advantage at the misplaced attention.
SHWING! CLANG!
Blake had to use her shadow clone to boost herself forward, catching the woman's scythe forming an 'X' with Gambol and Shroud. Yang fired off Ember Celica, but the woman was quick, she flipped over the shaft of her scythe and spun it to lock into the crux of Blakes blades and pulled backwards. The change in direction and force caused Blake to tumble forward, the assassin brought her scythe around her neck and aimed for her chest.
SWISH!
The woman's eyes widened as she found herself cutting through what appeared to be a rouge shadow. Blake had managed to push herself forward and just out of the range of the red heads range, Yang used Ember Celica to boost herself forward and into the fray.
POW! SWOOSH! POW-POW!
The assassin pulled back and dodged the left hooks and right jabs as Yang worked to find an opening. The woman slashed and Yang dodged, the blonde rushed forward to take advantage of the opening.
TWACK!
The assassin was one step ahead of her using the shaft of the scythe to smack Yang in the face. The aura had blocked any 'damage' so to speak, but Yang looked at her with renewed fury pushed even further as the assassin winked at her. Yang tried to rush her, but the assassin merely waited for her to throw a punch and leaped over head. She brought the curved blade of the scythe behind her and on Yang throat, she caught the blonde in the crux of the blade and shaft and used it to send her flying into the air, crashing into the shelf of liquors behind the bar.
SMASH!
POW!
The assassin instinctively dodged as a bullet narrowly passed across her shoulder, she looked up to see that Blake had taken refuge on a beam near the ceiling trying to snipe her from a distance. The assassin smiled though, with a quick jump she found herself on the beam adjacent to the cat faunas. Blake was completely covered in shadow save for her yellow eyes which burned with a primal intensity, they leapt forward to strike at each other.
SLASH!
They landed on the floor obsidian floor below.
"hunh!"
The faunas fell over, her whole body shimmered as her aura was completely depleted from the assassin's strike, the assassin turned to finish off Blake. She raised up her scythe up, Blakes focus found the assassin and her eyes went wide at her with dread.
FWOOSH!
The bar exploded into a firestorm, the flames were a plethora of colors as different liquors mixed together. Like a dragon, rising from the depths of hell, Yang Xiao Long stood up on the bar and looked at the assassin with an absolute determination. Glass cracked from the heat the radiating from her body, the blonde let out a wicked smile.
BOOM! SMASH!
She smashed her fists together causing a shockwave that threw tables chairs and shattered the various lighting equipment around the dance floor. The crimson assassin threw up her hands to shield herself from the falling glass and shockwave, the moment Yang had been counting on arrived.
KER-POW! POW-POW-POW-POW!
Yang used her semblance and gauntlets to shoot herself forward with tremendous speed, she raised her fist at the assassin and braced for impact.
POW! PHOOSH!
Yang's punch connected and the assassin went flying, but as she did her entire body seemed to disintegrate into rose petals. Yang took a moment and kneeled down to look at Blake, she was completely still and unresponsive her outfit was tattered and a nasty cut went across the front of her jacket, "Blake? Blake!?" Slowly the woman's eyes opened, she groggily looked around for a moment before looking up at Yang, the blonde smiled at her with tears of relief in her eyes. Blakes eyes went to something else before going wide with horror, she shoved Yang away and rolled in the opposite direction.
TWING!
Yang view changed from looking at a fearful Blake to a scared girl with yellow hair, she recognized it as a reflection in the scythes blade which was half buried in the floor. The red dust having been drained out of it over the extended fight, Yang was running low on aura, Blake was out completely and the assassin seemed to be just warming up. The assassin herself was resting against the shaft of her scythe, her feet balanced on the blade as she gave Yang a smile, the blonde managed to get to her feet. Blake walked around the assassin cautiously and joined her partner on the other side, "We need an exit, fast!" Yang whispered coarsely.
"Thinking!" Blake replied, she looked around for some form of distraction, but it was hard to see due to the laser ball which was shimmering from the light reflecting off the broken glass, beams shooting around wildly. It was heavily damaged from Yang's shockwave, but amazingly it still functioned. Suddenly, Blake had an idea.
"Yang," she whispered, "get yangry!" The assassin let out a sigh and stepped down from her scythe, flipping it up right and getting ready to finish the duo off. Yang closed her eyes and the flames around her seemed to heighten, Blake and the assassin shielded for light and heat. Blake stood away from Yang and fired off a few shots to make the assassin focus on her instead of Yang. "NOW!" Blake bellowed, she then turned her eyes to save her vision best she could, but even then, it wasn't much.
"RAAAGH!" Yang screamed, the flames roared as heat and light reached its peak intensity. The assassin clutched her eyes and screamed in pain, when she opened her eyes black dots, splotched her hazy and distorted vision. She faintly saw a yellow and black blur take off to the opposite end of the room and out of an exit. Slowly, she would open and close her eyes until her vision cleared, in the distance she heard the scream of a motorcycle taking off.
"You may run girls," the woman said with a grimace, "but I'll be right behind you." She walked to the door and outside. In the parking lot, she walked over to a shiny chrome chopper, a single turn of the keys and it thundered to life. She then pressed a button on the handle bars, a mini-gun popped up from the ornate rose on the front underneath the headlights. She smiled, "and I'll be bringing death with me." She flipped her scythe into a more compact rifle form and slid it into a saddle bag on the side.
…
Junior heard the women drive off and walked down stairs, he froze when he saw the state of his club. It was going to take weeks to clean the place back up! The front doors parted and the malachite twins walk in, "Hey Junior we saw someone leave the club …and wanted to… make sure… you …were…ok?" They looked around at the carnage that had been dealt on the club. They looked back to Junior on the staircase, "Xiao Long?" Melanie asked drily.
"Yep."
"Nothing we can do without the cops sniffing around here?" Miltia asked, Junior walked down to bar now smoldering from the fire. Junior smiled at the discovery that his whiskey was still intact, he pulled it out along with a shot glass, "If we did our 'associates' wouldn't trust this place afterward."
The twins sighed in unison, "I'll go call our clean-up crew, going to be an expensive one this time!" Miltia called out, whipping out her scroll and dialing up an old friend. "I'll go check on the boys." Melanie decided, she then went into the back room were the 'bouncers' fled when all hell started breaking loose. Junior began to pour himself a glass, but stopped, "Damn you Xiao Long…." He then drank straight from the bottle, throwing the shot glass to the floor.