Writer's Note: If you haven't already, please go check out Premium Well - Reunion. It's a prologue for this piece for when Blake and Yang meet back up. Also Fault and Failure where Weiss chews out Ironwood for bungling the defense of Vale in Volume 3. Kinda sets the stage for where this AU ends up.
Corpse Reviver
Two parts cognac, one part apple brandy, and one part sweet vermouth. Designed to bring life into even the most convincing corpses.
"Xiao Long," Adam snarled, cocking his head to the side as he stepped forward. "How's the arm?"
"Just peachy." Yang could hear her teeth grating as she eyed the line of cars blocking the road. White Fang members stood behind the vehicles, guns raised and ready to fire. "How's the chest wound?"
What she could see of Adam's face beneath the mask froze for a second, the mocking smirk sliding off his face. "You're out of options, blondie. Give me the Schnee girl, and you can run on back to that traitorous bitch you call a partner."
Yang's insides went cold. Every instinct she had begged for her to beat every ounce of blood out of the bastard who'd haunted Blake for all these years. For a second, all she could think about was breaking every bone in his body and watching him bleed out on the ground. It would feel great, cathartic, hell, even healing. But ...
But that wasn't the smart move to make. And it's not the plan.
Yang took a breath and let it out, slowly. Adam would get what he deserved, one way or another. But now wasn't the time to lose control.
"Yeah, about that ..."
Taurus took a step forward, his hand dropping down to the sword at his side. "No stalling. Open the doors. Now."
Fists clenched, she grit her teeth and stepped away from her bike. "Alright. Just saying, it's gonna be a little difficult."
Yang gripped the handle to the ambulance door, and smiled.
Seven hours earlier
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
Weiss looked over at the girl seated at her side. Ruby was looking better – a shower and a change of clothes tended to do that. A full night's sleep helped. She still looked a little tired, but the dark circles under her eyes were gone. Now ... now she just looked worried.
The heiress sighed and bit her cheek. She knew what Ruby meant, knew the can of worms she'd opened the second she agreed to Blake's idea. The plan made sense, and even Ruby had seen the logic in it when they'd talked about it as a team. It just happened to be the worst possible time for it.
"It's the best plan we have," Weiss said, watching for Ruby's reaction. "I'm not thrilled about the idea either, but it's either the SDC or we try and lay low for nine months."
Ruby swallowed, and if anything, her frown only got deeper. "Weiss, you just woke up a few days ago. The last thing you need is to put yourself in more danger."
"I'm already in danger," Weiss snapped before she could stop herself. Ruby's eyes widened and the younger girl shifted back, the hurt plain on her face. It wasn't much, just an inch or two, but it was enough to make the guilt stab into Weiss like a knife. Why do I always do this?
"I'm sorry, Ruby. You're right – I need to heal. But going to the company gives us the resources we need to do that. I can make sure we're protected there. And we won't need to have half the team watching out for us while we sleep." Weiss sighed and reached for Ruby's hand. She still looked downcast, but at least she didn't pull away. "I promised you I wouldn't leave the team. And I won't. I'm not leaving. But I can't fight like this."
"We could find a place. Mistral maybe. Somewhere they won't look for us. I can take care of you while you get better."
Weiss shook her head. "Ruby, if I have to sit at home for the next several months I will completely lose my mind. I need something to do, and if that's not hunting, then ... I could do worse than trying to fix my father's mess. And it means I'll have three very skilled huntresses I can ask to look into things for me. People I know can't be bought."
The younger woman looked at her for a while before giving her a little nod. Only then did she wrap her fingers around Weiss' and squeeze back.
Weiss tried to smile, ignoring the pain in her shoulder. With their trip to the SDC coming up, she needed her wits about her – which meant less painkillers. Which meant more pain. They hadn't taken her off the meds completely, but it was enough that any small movement felt like agony. She tried not to think about how much it would hurt without any drugs at all.
She tried to think about Ruby instead. It was something she'd been doing a lot of these past few days. Apart from when Blake or Yang dragged her off to eat or shower, Ruby hadn't moved from her side. Even then, she always came back with her hair wet, or with a paper bag she shoved her food into so she could eat with Weiss.
Still, she had a feeling this was about more than just Ruby being worried over her. Weiss had known Rose long enough, worked with her, fought beside her. She could tell something else was bothering her, something more than just concerns for Weiss' safety.
"Ruby, what's wrong?" she asked, deciding that the direct approach was for the best. They were running out of time as it was.
Ruby met her eyes for a second, then shook her head and went back to staring at their hands. "It's not important."
"It's important to me."
The younger girl kept her eyes on the blankets, staring down as if they would give her what she needed if she just looked hard enough.
"I'm being silly. Talking about this plan with Blake was a good idea, I just ..." Ruby trailed off and ran her hand through her hair. "I dunno, we're ... we're dating, or that's what you said at the party, anyway. But we're more than just partners so ... I just wish you'd talked to me too."
Weiss kept her eyes on Ruby, waiting for her to look up. To say something. To finish. A part of her wanted to argue – this plan had been Blake's idea to start with, not hers. It wasn't like Weiss had deliberately excluded Ruby. As soon as she and Blake finished their talk, they'd brought it to the team. Blake was the one who brought it up. Not me. What Ruby's saying, that's not fair-
... maybe it is. Weiss frowned and thought over the past couple weeks. Ruby ... wasn't wrong. Not completely. She'd kept her plan to sell her stock in SDC to herself – and it made Ruby think she was leaving the team. She'd been so terrified of what Ruby would think of their night together that she almost let it destroy their chances of any sort of relationship. And when she'd first realized how she felt about her, that she was in love with this reckless, cheeky, machine oil-stained huntress, her first thought was that she could never let Ruby know.
"You're right," Weiss said, squeezing the younger girl's hand atop the sheets. "Ruby ... you know that sometimes it takes me a little while to trust people."
Ruby snorted a laugh, but she didn't pull away.
Weiss glared, then shook her head. "I guess I deserve that. Getting me to rely on people is like pulling teeth. I'm trying to say I'm sorry. You know how long it took me to warm up to everyone, even just our team. The way I grew up – you learn to rely on yourself. You have to. So I'm not ... not used to being with someone. I didn't think about talking to you as my ..."
She paused and immediately changed what she'd been about to say. They'd been together less than two weeks. Better to go slow than jump the gun. "As someone I'm with. Not just as my teammate."
Ruby finally looked up and met Weiss' eyes. She still seemed worried, but the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile. A small one, but still ... it was a start.
"It's okay. Can't really blame you for having a lot on your mind."
"I'll work on it. And I promise, I'll do everything I can to stay safe."
"I know," Ruby nodded, a note of steel entering her voice. "I'm not leaving your side until you're better."
"Ruby, if you did that, you'd be bored out of your mind," Weiss said. It was nice that Ruby wanted to protect her. Surprisingly nice, actually. Normally, she would have fought tooth and nail against the idea that she needed someone watching out for her. Then again, I know she knows that. She's not being patronizing, or doubting I can handle myself. She's just scared. Can't blame her for that.
"You're welcome to guard me sometimes, but I'll find missions to keep you guys busy, and I'll stay in contact to make sure they're going well."
"... I'll miss hunting with you," Ruby said softly, reaching out to push a stray lock of hair back behind Weiss' ear. It was a simple gesture, one Ruby had done any number of times, but it still made Weiss lean into her hand, catching it while Ruby's palm was still on her cheek.
"Me too. But it's just until I heal."
"You're sure?"
"Ruby ... if I'm going to do this – if I'm going to try redeeming my family's company – I'm not holding anything back. I'm not stopping until it's done. But when it is, when I know there's someone else who can keep it running, who won't let it slide back into the monstrosity my father made, I promise I'll walk away."
"I still don't like this."
Yang snorted and jammed the last of her gear into the storage compartment beneath her bike's seat before looking over her shoulder. Blake stood behind her, bracketed by the glass doors leading to the hospital's emergency room. Her brows were furrowed, her arms folded across her chest. Despite this whole plan being her idea in the first place, she'd never liked how the team's roles were split. Especially not with Yang riding vanguard for their little convoy.
She was worried, and Yang couldn't fault her for that. Smiling, she reached over and put her hand on Blake's arm, rubbing gently against her coat. "Like I haven't heard that one before."
"I don't like the idea of not being with you if something goes wrong."
"I know, but I'll be fine. Splitting the group means Weiss is less likely to get attacked." She smiled again, trying to reassure her, and saw the look in Blake's eyes. Pulling the dark-haired girl to her, Yang wrapped Blake in her arms. She held tight – Blake needed to know nothing would happen to her. That unlike almost everyone in Yang's own life, the blonde would come back. Which is why I'm the one going off on her own, and not you.
"Plus, I want you with Ruby. I know I can trust you to take care of 'em if something goes wrong," Yang said. It was true, mostly. There was no one she trusted more than Blake. But it also means Ruby will be around to keep you safe.
Blake let out a long sigh and laid her head on Yang's shoulder. "Promise me you'll be careful."
"I will."
A car horn sounded, and Yang looked over to find a large red-and-white ambulance slowing to a stop alongside the Hospital emergency bay doors. The blonde gave Blake one last squeeze, then pulled away, blinking her eyes and making sure she was smiling by the time she walked up to the passenger side window.
"I'm really glad you guys could get here so fast."
A short redhead in an EMT uniform looked back at her. Yang had to admit – the disguise was good. She looked the part of a young, overworked paramedic ... except for the massive grenade launcher currently lying across her lap.
"Ehh," Nora Valkyrie shrugged and smiled back at her. "We weren't that busy."
"You needed our help." The EMT driving the ambulance leaned forward so he could see around Nora's head. Ren nodded, his pink eyes looking out solemnly from beneath black bangs. "That's enough for us."
"Plus, Weiss said we could blow anything up, so of course we had to come."
Yang snorted and rolled her eyes. Yanking on the door handle, she swung the side door open and half-caught Nora when the smaller woman jumped out of the ambulance for a hug. It was good to see them both – and Yang found her smile getting a lot less forced. Having them both along for the ride ... now they had a damn good chance of pulling this off.
"Okay," Yang laughed and set Nora down, only for her to rush over and give Blake the same treatment.
"Let's load the gear in the ambulance first. We need to get the rig set up."
"I'll go get your passenger." Blake said quietly, disentangling herself from Nora as Ren came around the front of the ambulance.
Fortunately, with the three of them working together, it only took about five minutes to get everything set up. They finished long before the elevator at the far end of the hall, far beyond the glass doors, finally came to a stop. Three figures came out, clustered around a rolling gurney with the unmistakable shape of a body lying atop it. A sheet hid the body lying beneath it – it wasn't much, but it might make it that much harder to tell who they were rolling out into the ambulance. Hopefully anyone watching would think they were just transporting a corpse to a morgue. Or they didn't want their 'patient' exposed to the cold. It might not fool a trained assassin, but at least the paparazzi wasn't bothering them.
Blake came out first, glancing around the emergency bay on the off chance someone was watching them. Satisfied they were alone, she pulled the gurney out through the doors, with Ruby pushing the other end of the rolling bed. The third figure, Dr. Yabai, held the door open until the two girls were outside, wished them luck, and headed back into the hospital.
Yang watched it all from the back bumper of the ambulance, her knee bouncing with nervous energy. She knew what they needed to take their time, why Blake wasn't trying to rush things. But it still rankled her. She hated waiting like this, knowing someone would be coming and having to sit still while the others wheeled gurney down the ramp.
Coming to her feet, Yang went to Blake's side and gave her one last hug. They'd said everything that needed saying, and Yang wasn't interested in tempting fate with promises of 'next time' or of conversations she wanted to have. She smiled, saw the same 'worried but trying to be supportive' smile on Blake's face, and went to nudge Ruby in the ribs.
"Come on," she said, nodding towards the corpse. "Go say goodbye."
Ruby blinked, lost in thought, before her eyes re-focused. "Oh. R-right."
Gingerly, Ruby stepped over the gurney, and laid a hand on the blanket. "Be careful, okay?"
The other girl nodded from beneath the sheets, a hand reaching out to pat Ruby's. They stayed for a moment, until Ren and Nora gingerly lifted the gurney into the ambulance, and closed the doors behind them.
Putting her arm around Ruby's shoulders, Blake led the younger huntress back inside. Yang watched them go, watched them step back through those doors, all the way down the hall until the elevator closed behind them.
Shaking her head, Yang mounted her bike and tugged her motorcycle helmet down over her head. Now wasn't the time to wish she could be there, at Blake's side or comforting her sister. She had things to do, and people to break if they tried getting in her way. That part at least, would be fun.
"The heiress is in the van." Nora chirped, her voice coming from the earbud in the side of the blonde's helmet.
Yang rolled her eyes and keyed the ignition. "Shouldn't she be 'the eagle' or something?"
"'The eagle is in the van'? That's just silly," Nora laughed. "Oh! The eagle is in the nest! The coffee is in the pot! The proof is in the pudding!"
"'Heiress' it is. How's the rig looking?"
"It should hold," Ren said before Nora could get ahold of the radio again.
"Good." Yang settled the helmet over her hair and grabbed the handlebars. "I have a nasty feeling this may get bumpy."
With a smile, she slammed her visor down and gunned the engine. The air filled with the squeal of rubber on asphalt, as the Bumblebee kicked and tore off down the road, the red-and-white ambulance lumbering behind her.
The highway was quiet, nearly abandoned beneath the glow of the street lamps. It was almost silent – the only sound was the purr of Bumblebee's engines beneath her and the thump of tires on the road from the ambulance behind her. Yang could count on one hand all the cars they'd seen in the thirty minutes since they left the hospital. It was still the dead of winter, and no one wanted to be out at night with the threat of ice coating the roads. No one in their right mind, anyway. But how many huntresses really belong in the 'right mind' category, anyway?
"You sure they're gonna follow us?" Nora's voice came in over her earbud. Yang smiled grimly, and kept her eyes locked on the road. There was no doubt in her mind that they'd come – no doubt that whoever was hunting Weiss would be lying in wait.
"They'd better. Otherwise you two got all prettied-up for nothing."
Nora's laughter chirped across the radio,
She cut off, the radio going dead. After a second it clicked again, Ren's voice coming over the connection.
"Yang, I have three black vans coming up behind us."
The blonde glanced back over her shoulder. Sure enough, three large, matte-black SUVs were coming up behind them, going well over the speed limit on the rural interstate.
"I see 'em." Yang glanced down at her gauntlets, checking that both were fully loaded. Taking her hands off the handlebars, she punched the air, pumping rounds into the shotgun chambers before tightening her hands back around the handles.
"Remember," she said, her voice tight and raw with adrenaline. "We stop for nothing. Oh, and Nora ..."
"Yeah?"
"These guys tried to kill Weiss. Don't feel like you need to hold back."
Yang shifted her feet and goosed the brake, slipping to the side as the ambulance rushed past her. Killing the acceleration, she dropped back, pulling the bike in a hair-pin turn that would have sent a less experienced rider flying. Eyes locked on the vans, she hit the throttle and roared back down the highway and thumbed the suicide-cruise button, locking the throttle in place. Her hands came off the handlebars, and Yang fired, explosive rounds twinkling against the snowy backdrop before slamming into their pursuers.
The first shot slammed straight into the windshield of the front van. It didn't shatter, but a massive spider-web of cracked split the tinted surface. The second missed – bouncing off the bars mounted on the front of the grill. It dented the metal, and with a normal car it probably would have penetrated, blown out the engine block. Resistant glass and armor plating aren't part of the normal package you pick out from a dealer ... this is definitely them.
Her third shot finished the work of the first, shattering the damaged screen and detonating inside the front cab of the van. The car swerved, smoke billowing out of its busted windows, then jerked to the side. The other two vans fell back, trying to avoid the lead van as its driver lost control. It kept its momentum, right up until the pint where the tires lost traction with the road. It jerked left one more time, then swerved right – either overcompensating or the driver just blacked out.
The wheels slipped and the van began to tumble forwards. It rolled, the top edge crushed as it hit the highway, bouncing up into the air and turning into a rolling ball of crumpled metal death. At the speed it was going, there was no way it would stop before Yang hit it – the damaged van was little more than a misshapen cannonball, getting larger and larger as it flew right for her.
Hitting the accelerator, Yang ducked low and swerved to the side, letting the momentum carry the bike over onto its side. Inertia kept them moving forward, sliding right beneath the wrecked van as it sailed overhead. Chrome and metal screeched, scraping along the ground before Yang twisted the bike back into alignment, goosing the throttle as her first kill of the night bounced, tumbled, and crashed behind her.
Not bothering to look, Yang raced straight towards the two remaining vans. Both vehicles' passenger and driver-side windows rolled down, and two faces wearing balaclavas poked out, followed by the snub-noses of four matching submachine guns.
No windows but the two in front, Yang thought, weaving back and forth as bullets spattered the road around her. Means the drivers are steering one-handed, and it's only the four of them I have to worry about for now.
Bullets sprayed across the highway, speckling holes into the asphalt. Amateurs, Yang rolled her eyes and hunkered down behind the front of her bike. She'd reinforced the armor plating on Bumblebee's front years ago – with any luck, the few shots that actually found her wouldn't get any farther than the inch-thick metal plating.
She fired twice. Both shots sailed past the gunmen, scraping along the sides of the vans and leaving deep, thick gouges in the new black paint. The two ducked, then started firing again, their aim getting better as Yang closed the distance between them. She stayed down, putting the bulk of her bike between them, counting down the seconds until they caught up. She just needed to get between them. They can't risk pulling this spray-and-pray crap with their friends in the line of fire.
Three. Two. One.
Yang drove right between the two, bringing up both fists as she sailed past. One gunman's face – the one in the van on her right – went slack as she passed, horror widening his eyes as he realized what was about to happen. It was still a surprise when Yang's round caught him full in the face, knocking him back and slamming into the other side of the van before detonating. Smoke rushed out through the shattered glass as the van jerked, then slowed – the now-unconscious driver slumped over the wheel.
The van on her left was less lucky. Her shot slammed through the driver's side window, throwing the driver into the passenger-side seat as the shot demolished his aura. The car swerved, screeched as the tires lost their hold on the road, and crashed into the concrete wall bordering the road. The front of the van crumpled, the engine reduced to an unusable blob of metal and wires.
Not bad. Two shots, two car out of commission. Now, as long as the rest of the night was this easy–
"We've got incoming," Ren's low voice said in her ear. Slowing, Yang jerked her bike around and floored the engine, the thrust throwing her back. Her bike roared back up the highway and was on by the ambulance in seconds, pulling up alongside Nora's window.
Ren wasn't kidding. Another van and what looked like five men on motorbikes were charged towards them, holding their fire to avoid wasting bullets before the got close enough to aim.
Then they got closer, and Yang felt the old rage pooling in her chest. All of them, from the men on the bikes to the driver of the van behind them, wore grey-white masks that covered the upper half of their faces. Little points like fangs jutted down along their cheeks, framing the eye-slits cut into the front. It was a design Yang knew all too well. One she'd thought she would never see again. It's them. It's really them. Which means ...
"Hey Yang," Nora shouted as she rolled down her window. "Didn't we beat these guys, like, years ago?"
Yang's heart was pounding in her ears. She ignored it – she needed to focus. "Guess it didn't stick."
She saw the redheaded huntress grin out of the corner of her eye, and aim Magnhild through the window in its grenade-launcher mode
"You got this?" Yang asked, taking her hands off her handlebars to reload.
"Yup!" Even over the roar of the engines, Yang heard the click as Nora chambered a round. "You break the line, I'll knock 'em down."
It took them seconds to close with the first few bikers. Then all hell broke loose, bullets flying as Yang fired and fired again, the red explosive rounds slamming into machinery and knocking a rider or two loose. A few of the White Fang bullets found their mark – her aura took the brunt of it, but it still felt like getting kicked by a horse.
"They're aiming for the tires!" Ren shouted, his voice tight from concentration as he struggled to keep the ambulance juking side-to-side without crashing the ungainly car.
"Come on, Ren. Defensive driving 101!"
"Yang, this ambulance wasn't built to dodge small-arms fire."
"Fine." Yang fired again and grinned as a man went screaming off the overpass as one of Nora's grenades sent him flying. "I'll make a hole. You ram on through."
"Will do."
Revving the engine, Yang tore forward, weaving back and forth as the masked men fired from the bikes ahead. Grenades and shotgun rounds sent them scattering, darting across the road to avoid getting blasted by either of the two huntresses. The van in front had slowed, keeping its rear doors points towards the ambulance as White Fang thugs fired from the windows.
Hitting the throttle, Yang pulled up alongside the left side of the van, timing it so she slid in beneath the window right when the passenger pulled back inside to reload. The window rolled back up as he ducked inside. They're learning, Yang mused. They must have been in contact with the other vans. Not that it'll save them.
Yang pulled back her right arm, narrowed the metal fingers of her right hand into a wedge and slammed into the glass.
The window buckled, then shattered, the glass flying into the van as the tips of Yang's fingers broke through. The masked man in the back raised his arms to shield his face from the shards, just in time to shriek as Yang grabbed his arm and yanked him through the window. He screamed, then thudded into the ground, bouncing back along the highway.
"Boom!" a chipper voice laughed in her ear. "Another one's gone and another one bites th-"
"Nora!"
"Sorry."
Yang ducked as bullets sprayed from the broken window. She pulled back, ready to slide around and do the same to the other windows, when the pointed end of an RPG poked out past the shattered glass.
Cursing, she floored the accelerator, zipping ahead of the van. She couldn't go back – if that missed her and hit the ambulance ... focus, Yang. Focus.
She heard the missile rather than saw it. Part of her wanted to look around, at least see it before the rocket-propelled grenade slammed into her. The explosion might not kill her, but it would destroy her bike, and probably her aura along with it.
The proximity sensor on her bike beeped, and Yang swerved to the side, waiting to see the rocket shoot past her.
It didn't.
Giving in, yang gave one quick glance behind her, and swallowed. The rocket was right on her tail, following her as she weaved across the road.
Heat-seeking. Shit.
She needed to lose it. Needed to make a tight enough move so it would overshoot her, needed to ...
Yang grinned as the idea came to her. Hitting the brake, she slowed as much as she dared before twisting the bike to the side. She leaned into the turn, tipping the bike. Bumblebee jerked and shuddered, threatening to dump her over and skid out on the road. And then the RPG gets me. So ... no pressure.
Gritting her teeth, Yang reached out and dug her right hand into the asphalt. Metal screamed as it gouged into the road, tearing a scream of her own from Yang's throat as the maneuver tore at her arm. Pain lanced through her shoulder as the connection between her flesh and the metal appendage strained ... and held.
The arm worked like a pivot. The bike turned tighter that it ever could on its own, whipping around low enough to the ground that the handlebar scraped along the road. The rocket zipped past overhead, shrieking as it sped past her ear. With a howl of a rage and pain, Yang ripped her arm up out of the road and righted her bike, staring down at the black van barreling towards her.
Ignoring the sparks shooting from her arm, she gunned the engine and roared towards the White Fang car. The masked driver looked at her through the wind shield and settled in behind the wheel. He was going to ram her. The bigger, reinforced van would knock her smaller bike aside, rolling over her like any other obstacle in the road.
Moron.
Kicking the bike up on its back wheel, Yang slammed into the van. The front wheel caught on the engine hood and pulled, yanking her up onto the frame. For a second, the Bumblebee strained, trying to move, trying to find purchase on the van's front. Then, it surged forward, pulled her up and over the windshield and onto the roof of the van.
Yang whooped with victory as she whipped across the roof and bounced back down onto the road, heading back towards the ambulance. Only one biker was left – the rest lay far behind, taken down by Nora's grenades or her own shots.
She didn't even bother to look behind her as the van hit its brakes, screeching as it tried to turn, to double back and catch her. She knew what was coming, the expression that had to be crossing the driver's face as he looked out his window and saw his own rocket flying right back towards him.
The explosion rocked the highway, sending scraps of flaming metal flying everywhere. A chunk of door flew towards her, and Yang dodged, weaving back and forth as she rejoined Ren and Nora on the now-empty road.
"How's your passenger?" she asked, thumbing the radio. Her voice was scratchy and raw, tension and the pain from her arms having taken its toll.
"Doing okay," Nora answered, loading another round into Magnhild. "Everything's stable."
"Good." That was the last thing they needed – to have the ambulance rig come apart halfway through. "That might have been the last of them. So, if another group comes-
"Yang..." Ren cut her off, a note of worry in his voice.
The blonde looked up, saw what waited for them down the road, and swore.
There was nowhere to go. A line two-to-three cars thick lay across the highway, sitting bumper-to-bumper in a makeshift blockade. The entire road was cut off – a single line of cars in their way Yang or the ambulance could have knocked aside. She'd set off a blast, hope to kick one of the car up into the air, and let the ambulance clip another aside as it rushed through. But with the vehicles packed in behind the ones in front, they'd just slam headlong into the next.
"Yang, we can't break through something like that."
"I know," she growled. She'd wanted them to get further, stall a bit longer, but ... "Ren, do it."
"Has it been enough time?"
"It's gonna have to be." Yang tightened her hands on the controls, baring her teeth as she snarled. "Now!"
Rubber screeched against the pavement as Ren slammed the brakes and threw the wheel to the side. Yang sped past before hitting her own brakes, never taking her eyes from the roadblock as the ambulance swerved and spun, screaming to a halt behind her with the unarmored bay doors pointed towards the line of cars.
Finally, everything came to a halt, with Yang and her bike as the only thing between her friends and the White Fang. For a split second, everything was completely still – Yang atop her motorcycle, the White Fang soldiers behind their barricade,
Two of the terrorists stepped to the side, moving further behind cover as a man dressed in a black coat stepped forward. His hair was the color of blood, even more vivid above the white mask that covered the upper part of his face.
"Nora," Yang said quietly. "Remind me to apologize to Blake when this is over."
"Why? You use the laser pointer again?"
Coat flapping behind him, Adam Taurus took his place at the head of the White Fang pack, flanked on either side by rifle-toting thugs. His sheathed blade hung from his left hand, held loosely at his side, but Yang knew it would be take him barely a second to grab the hilt and draw.
A second man stepped out of the crowd and joined Adam at his side. He stood-shoulder to shoulder with the terrorist, dressed in black with a balaclava covering his face, flicking a pair of revolvers in and out of his hands, mounted on a pair of brass knuckles cradled in his fists.
The sound of someone breathing filled her ears. It was quick and panicked, a kind of panting ... and she realized it was coming from herself. Blake had been right. Adam was back and she was right. And the man standing next to him had the same weapons the assassin used when he broke into Blake's place. No breathing mask ... just the one all White Fang wear. Which means he must have been the person on the other end. The bastard controlling the ones who attacked Blake and Weiss.
And I didn't believe her. She said Adam was back, and I didn't believe her.
Every fiber of her being wanted to attack, to impart some small measure of the pain Adam had put her through. To beat his friend to a pulp for even thinking about hurting her partner. And this time ... this time she'd kill them herself.
"Xiao Long," Adam snarled, cocking his head to the side as he stepped forward. "How's the arm?"
"Just peachy." Yang could hear her teeth grating as she eyed the line of cars blocking the road. White Fang members stood behind the vehicles, guns raised and ready to fire. "How's the chest wound?"
What she could see of Adam's face beneath the mask froze for a second, the mocking smirk sliding off his face. "You're out of options, blondie. Give me the Schnee girl, and you can run on back to that traitorous bitch you call a partner."
Yang's insides went cold. Every instinct she had begged to beat every ounce of blood out of the bastard who'd haunted Blake for all these years. For a second, all she could think about was breaking every bone in his body and watching him bleed out on the ground. It would feel great, cathartic, hell, even healing. But ...
But that wasn't the smart move to make. And it's not the plan.
Yang took a breath and let it out, slowly. Adam and his assassin would get what they deserved, one way or another. But now wasn't the time to lose control.
"Yeah, about that ..."
Taurus took a step forward, his hand dropping down to the sword at his side. "No stalling. Open the doors. Now."
Fists clenched, she grit her teeth and stepped away from her bike. "Alright. Just saying, it's gonna be a little difficult."
Yang gripped the handle to the ambulance door, and smiled.
She threw the door open and hellfire rained out on the White Fang thugs, the heavy bullets chewing through their makeshift roadblock. Round after round fired from the open doors, sending sparks and shards of metal flying. The nearest White Fang troops went flying, groaning as the bullets slammed into their auras and tossed them to the ground. Adam dived aside, rolling until he vanished behind one of the cars, safely out of sight.
Yang joined in, throwing shot after shot towards the line of cars, hitting anywhere the machine gun bullets didn't. A second later, grenades bounced into the line, lodging between cars and blowing them apart, joined by the spatter of submachine rounds as Ren and Nora joined Yang at the back of the ambulance. She nodded and the two broke off, using the suppressing fire from Yang and the ambulance to get to a better position.
The cars at the front of the blockage sagged and fell, filling the air with the sound of tires popping. Bits of fenders and doors fell off as the bullets ate through them, until finally the lead car simply fell apart, leaving behind nothing but a smoking wreck. Every so often, one of the Fang would poke his head up, trying to get a shot off, only to duck back down as the chaingun, Yang's gauntlets, Magnhild, or Ren's pistols spattered rounds in their direction.
Finally, the firing stopped. The machine gun roar ceased, and the air went silent except for the little tinkling clicks as the barrels cycled.
Inside the ambulance, beret perched atop her head, stood Coco Adel. The brunette huntress already had her shades perched on the end of her nose, her hands gripping the handles of a gold-trimmed chaingun, its tripod riveted onto the ambulance floor.
Coco grinned beneath her glasses, white teeth flashing as slid another round into the chamber. There was no humor in it, just grim determination and no small amount of anger.
"Wrong heiress, asshole."
The sound of a revving chaingun split the air again, followed by shouts as the first rank of attackers tried desperately to move out of the way.
Ten minutes later, and it was over. The White Fang were gone, run off by the combined power of four hunters and the knowledge that they'd been tricked.
Chunks of metal and pieces of what once were cars littered the highway, covered with bullet holes and scorch marks. No bodies – Adam and his men had taken their injured with them. Using the roadblock as a shield, they'd piled into what vans they could and took off. Coco and the others had gotten in what shots they could, but they couldn't chase after them, not with the roadblock trapping them in place.
Now Yang sat on the back of the ambulance, head in her hands while Ren drove the four of them to the rendezvous point, every muscle in her arm aching from that stunt she'd pulled. Her prosthetic kept twitching, jerking around when she tried to use her fingers. She'd need to have Weiss or Ruby take a look at the servomotors again. Some of the circuitry was fried, but it could be fixed.
But none of it mattered. Not with Adam on the loose and his pet assassin with him. She thought she'd winged him at least – she was sure one of her shotgun rounds took him in the shoulder. But she'd seen him and his hitman jump into the first car to leave – running like the pathetic cowards they were the second they saw Weiss wasn't there.
She needed him gone. She needed him dead, and he'd run.
"We'll get him." Coco squeezed Yang's shoulder and smiled bracingly. The older huntress sat across from her, stripping her chaingun and making sure it hadn't sustained any major damage during the fight. "He can't run and hide forever."
Yang growled beneath her breath and let the anger go. She's right – there isn't anything I can do. He couldn't hide forever, not now, not with them knowing he was really out there. Atlas, Vale, hell, even Mistral and Vacuo would be more than happy to help hunt him down. They'd get him, eventually – no matter how much she hated the wait. Her semblance began to fade, leaving a bone-deep exhaustion in its wake.
"I'm sure the others are fine," Coco said, trying to meet Yang's eyes. "With everyone they sent to catch us, the rest of your team must have made it to the SDC without getting caught."
Yang looked back across the smoking highway, over the smoking wreckage of the White Fang's cars. Over the broken blades and shell casings. Over the brand-new potholes scattered across the asphalt where Nora's grenades had landed. This had been a long, hard fight and deep down, Yang had a sneaking feeling that it was only just beginning.
"I really hope you're right."
"How exactly did you convince them to let us borrow this?" Blake asked, shouting so Weiss could hear her over the roar of the airship's propellers.
The injured girl looked up from her bed. The gurney was locked in place, latched to the floor with Weiss tied down atop it. It wasn't comfortable, but it meant that if Ruby made any quick maneuvers, Weiss wouldn't go flying around the hold.
Weiss smiled ruefully and closed her eyes, wincing as the turbulence jostled her shoulder. "The hospital wants to break ground on a new cardiology wing."
Blake snorted a laugh. "Well, you're lucky Ruby knows how to fly one of these."
Weiss nodded, then winced as another jerk sent pain shooting up her arm. Blake looked down at her in concern. The heiress' dosage of painkillers was lower than Blake would like, lower than even Dr. Yabai had suggested. But Weiss insisted – she needed a clear head when they arrived.
"Blake," Ruby called back from the cockpit. "How's Weiss doing back there?"
Blake hauled herself up to the front, using the handrails to keep from stumbling. "She's hanging on. We strapped her down about as firmly as we can without hurting her shoulder." It wasn't what Ruby meant, but she needed her head clear. She'd be worried enough about Weiss without Blake telling her how much pain the heiress was in. "Just try not to crash, okay?"
"Don't worry." Ruby took her eyes away from the console for a split second to look back at the white-haired girl lying on the bed. "I got this."
Dramatis Personae
Huntresses/Huntsmen
Ruby Rose (human from Patch)
Weiss Schnee (human from Atlas)
Blake Belladonna (Cat Faunus from Vale)
Yang Xiao Long (human from Patch)
Pyrrha Nikos (human from Mistral)
Jaune Arc (human from Vale)
Lie Ren (human from Vale)
Nora Valkyrie (human from Vale)
Winter Schnee (human from Atlas)
Coco Adel (human)
Antagonists
Mal (human)
Robin Pūcel (human, Aliases: Robert Goodman, Vardon Wight, Marquis Lutin Verdir)
Lloyd Mac Tire (Dog Faunus from Vale)
Adam Taurus (Bull Faunus)
Morden Schnee (human from Atlas)
Writer's Note: Well, I managed to keep to my release schedule and get this out a bit earlier than the last wait.
Please leave a review or comment if you can. (A) It makes my day and (B) it sometimes gives me idea about what you guys would like to see and any mistakes I might need to fix. If you have any questions, comments, critiques, or even just want to say 'hi,' PLEASE put it in a review or in an ask on tumblr (you can find me as 'redsuitwriter'). If I wasn't clear about something, then I'd love to know so I can fix it in the text.
Also, if you have a second, I'd ask you to go check out the Summer Rose Court – it's a virtual novel for RWBY being worked on by a number of the fanfic and fanart makers in the RWBY community. There's a demo up already and a bunch of art references and sprites and little jokes from our writing sessions up on Tumblr (Just search for 'summer rose court' or 'SRC dev blog' or 'SRC hard at work' for us messing around). I'm having a blast working with these folks.