The situation in Vale had deteriorated. Or at least that was what Yang would have liked to say. In reality it had completely gone to shit.
It had already been hard enough knowing that her dad and uncle were in the hands of the White Fang. To free them they would have to locate where they were being held, fight their way through who knew how many guards, and then get everyone out.
It would push them to the absolute limit. So much so that Yang felt guilty even asking her friends to take the colossal risks; they all knew how unlikely it was for them all to escape unharmed. Yet they'd all agreed, and without reservation.
They'd started formulating a strategy, and had even begun to feel confident. That was until the point Torchwick had dropped a bombshell which threw all their meticulous plans awry. The invasion of Vale had begun.
An expeditionary force had landed near the coast and was establishing a foothold for the majority of the Atlesian forces to land. The promise of the retaliation from the most powerful country on the planet, a threat that had hung heavy over the city for so long was now becoming a reality.
Yang had heard two very different stories about what was happening out there. The first, the one presented by the White Fang, told of heroic victories; stories of brave Faunus troops standing up and defeating their oppressors, before tactically pulling back to more strategic ground.
Torchwick's reports had been different. The White Fang was fighting a desperate withdrawal action, abandoning the territory they'd captured including the mines that were only just becoming operational. On the ground, despite their number, they were being overwhelmed by the professional soldiers with better fire support.
One version was much more believable, though ultimately it didn't matter. All that mattered was that the city of Vale was on a war footing. The White Fang had retreated from the far-flung regions and were concentrating their forces in the city that had been so hard-won.
Vale was full to bursting with their soldiers and that wasn't the worst part. The White Fang had also mobilised their Knights. Thousands and thousands of them, far more than they'd originally captured from Atlas.
While the Resistance's actions had resulted in much of the city being shut down with the infrastructure in ruins, the White Fang were still keeping some factories outside of Vale running no matter the cost; they were pumping out scores of Knights an hour. How they'd managed to get the plans Yang didn't know, but then she didn't know how they'd managed to hack the Knights in the first place.
All this meant that there were thousands of Knights on the streets. Up to this point the White Fang had been hesitant to deploy them in the city. To too many the horror of the day in which the city had been liberated still burned. The Knights were the main cause of that. To disassociate themselves from them had been the intelligent thing to do. It didn't matter now though, and the leadership knew it.
For all intents and purposes the city was under martial law. No one went out, not unless they had to, not when at any moment bombs could fall from the sky. They huddled in their houses, in their basements converted to shelters, praying that it would just be over, one way or another.
If only Yang's life was so easy. Even without her personal situation, the Resistance hadn't yet achieved its purpose. Until the flag of the White Fang had been torn down from the roof of the Eburnean House they still had work to do.
They'd moved from civilian to military targets, ammo dumps, AA systems, and more. There were so many explosions on the streets now people would be forgiven for believing that the war had come early to the city. When he walked in on a planning session, Torchwick hadn't even immediately shot down their plan to free her dad and uncle.
Anything that would destabilise the White Fang was a good move in his book, and losing two much lauded prisoners would certainly do that. Only he wanted to expand it from a simple rescue mission to something more. He hadn't said what, and Yang wasn't sure if she really wanted to know.
He'd let them get on with their end while he orchestrated his. The plan they'd come up with was almost workable. Well, at least it had been up until they'd received news of Atlas' invasion. Now they didn't know if it was tenable.
"Look, I just can't see how we can do it when that sector is now crawling with troops. They'll be up our asses in seconds." As usual Coco was certainly expressive in getting her point across.
"We can still come up with something," Neptune said from across the table. "It's going to be harder, but we just can't leave them."
"Of course, I'm not saying that," Coco snapped back. They all knew what the end result of that course of action would be. "I'm just saying we're going to have to throw everything we've come up with out the window and we're running out of time. The trial was meant to be in two days. With all the stuff happening now who knows if they're even going to bother with one anymore. We need ideas, and fast. Anybody?"
Everyone sat in the designated planning room of Torchwick's warehouse exchanging glances. All hoping that the others' brains was more active than theirs.
After a minute of awkward silence Coco spoke again. "Ok, let's try breaking this down. What's our goal?"
"To free Yang's dad and uncle," Sun said.
"Right. What problems do we have?"
"They're under guard. And there are a lot more defences and troops around the area than there were before. It will be close to impossible to sneak in anymore," Neptune added.
"So if there are too many guards in the area what do we need to do?"
"Draw them away?" Sage added.
"Yes. We've got to try and get enough out of the area so we won't be walking into a death trap. How? How can we make them pull out? How can we distract them?" Coco tapped her fingernails on the table. A steady rhythm as they all waited for a flash of inspiration.
It came from Blake. "There's a barracks not too far from there. If it came under a heavy assault, they would need reinforcements."
Yang saw the brief heated look that Coco sent Blake's way. Though so far she'd managed to swallow her tongue, it was clear in the way she treated Blake that she hadn't forgiven her for lying to them for all those months. Blake believed she deserved the cold shoulder as well.
It was telling Coco didn't compliment Blake. "Can we work on that? How many are stationed there?"
Blake shrugged. "Eighty or so. Though they are storing Knights there. Maybe a few hundred. They're probably planning to use them to defend the centre of the city."
It was clear what Coco was thinking. Though in reality she likely didn't doubt Blake's loyalty to her friends, a small part of her would always consider just how Blake knew what they were planning? Once a given trust has been broken, it is extremely hard to repair.
"Velves, what do you think? That many is a lot; even for you." None of them would dream of turning Velvet's skills against the White Fang regulars, not with what it would do to her psyche. Knights though, they were ok.
Velvet shrank away from the collective attention. As always she'd done her best to make herself small and unnoticeable even when they were all sitting around the same table. "Umm… maybe. We don't have a lot of Dust left though, and I'd have to see what it's like, but how long do I have?"
Coco shrugged. "A day, maybe two. We can't afford to wait any longer."
"I don't know then. Knights are resistant to most elemental attacks. I'd have to try and figure out a way to neutralise that many, and that's only if I can get a lot more Dust."
"You can do it," Coco said encouragingly. "I'm sure Torchwick will be able to find some. Let's proceed on the basis that he can and you work out a way. Where does that leave the rest of us?"
"With the seven of us against about eighty or more White Fang." When Sun said it like that the task seemed colossal.
"We don't actually have to fight them though, we just have to pin them down long enough that they call for reinforcements," Coco corrected him.
"There won't be seven of us though," Blake spoke up and everyone turned to her. "This is just a distraction. We still have to free Taiyang and Qrow. Someone will have to do that."
"And I suppose that someone means you," Coco stared her down.
"Unless you have a better candidate," Blake snapped back.
"Well you're not going alone." Those who weren't clued in to the reason behind Coco's sudden hostility shared confused looks.
"Course she's not," Yang spoke up. "I'm going too." She cut off whatever Blake was going to say. "They're my family. I'm going."
"Me too," Sun declared. "You're going to need all the help you can get."
A spike of jealousy surged into Yang's blood. It was clear to her that he'd only put his name forward because he wanted to protect Blake. They might not have had much time for romantic machinations in the middle of the city, but they had spent time together and perhaps he thought their old romance had been rekindled.
It shouldn't have made her jealous. She had no claims on Blake. She wasn't even sure just how she felt about her anymore. It would take her a lot longer than she had to catalogue and analyse the numerous things she'd discovered on this mission. They'd got back to the point where they were friends, at least on the surface, Yang was even coming to enjoy Blake's company once more, but they weren't back to that magical place they had been when she'd first developed feeling for her partner. Sun's declaration shouldn't have made her angry. It still did though.
"We can't have everyone going," Coco said.
"No but three's a good number. Don't you think Blake?" Sun said.
If Yang knew her at all, Blake's ideal number for an operation like this was precisely one. That wouldn't fly on this mission though, Yang wouldn't take no for an answer, and Blake obviously noticed. "Two… maybe three."
"There it is then." Sun jumped on her words. "We'll go in. Free Taiyang and Qrow, while the rest of you draw most of the guards off."
Coco wasn't all that happy with the plan. "If we assume that Velvet's going to have her hands full, with you three going off, that leaves four of us to pin down eighty. That's sort of asking a lot."
"What about Torchwick?" Neptune said. "He wanted something big. What could be bigger than striking the White Fang in the heart of Vale? I'm sure when he learns what we're planning he'll be willing to push some extra resources our way. It would only take another dozen people with guns to make them think they were under attack by a much larger force."
"That… that could work," Coco said grudgingly before the idea gained traction in her head. "Actually… maybe Neo could help us here. If we're planning on tricking the White Fang she could be very useful."
A series of nervous looks were passed between them. Despite spending more time in her company none of them found it comfortable. Especially when they'd been given a very visual demonstration of what she found fun. Neo was all kinds of damaged.
"Ok." Coco started summing up. "Perhaps we're not completely boned. I'll have to speak with Torchwick but, assuming he agrees, this might just be workable. It most certainly won't be easy, but unless anyone else has any other ideas?" She paused for a moment. "Then this is our best one. Though, knowing our luck, it's going to turn into a shit storm."
Yang fidgeted with Ember Celica for the hundredth time in the past hour. With practiced motions she flicked it between its deployed and non-deployed states, checking the chamber was clear, and the safeties.
They were practiced motions but they weren't performed flawlessly. Her hands were shaking too much. Normally she would have punched anyone who said she was scared. She was too strong to be scared. Or at least that was what she tried to present to the world.
In reality there were many things that strength simply wasn't able to stop. It didn't matter if someone was a clerk or the most powerful hunter in the world, they would still experience the same heart-wrenching and all-encompassing terror when they saw a loved one collapse.
Yang wasn't scared for herself. She'd long come to terms with what might happen to her on a hunt or mission. Instead she was scared for her dad, for her uncle, for her friends and what they were preparing to do on her behalf, and for Ruby and how she would cope if the worst happened here.
Fear might have existed on a plane that had been long since transcended by Yang the hunter, but it existed all around Yang the sister, the daughter, the friend. It was that fear that caused her hands to shake. She pressed them into tight fists, her nails biting into her skin, trying to hide the trembling.
She didn't succeed. A soft hand wrapped around her own closed one, forcing her fingers apart until they were entwined with the newcomer's.
"It's all going to be ok Yang." As usual Blake had snuck up on her in complete silence.
Tellingly the nerves were completely lacking from her frame. Yang didn't answer immediately. Neither of them were stupid. They knew that the words were hollow. Short of a divine entity no one could promise such a thing. The sentiment behind the words was very real though. Blake had noticed her discomfort and sought to relieve it.
"Thanks," Yang gave her a shaky smile which Blake returned. At times like this Yang missed the moments they'd once shared so badly it hurt.
"No worries," Blake returned the smile, her amber eyes alight. They stayed that way for a few minutes. Just sharing the warmth from their bodies and breathing in each other's scent. It was comforting. They could have been back at Beacon. A time when both their lives had been so much simpler.
They weren't back at Beacon though. "We should get…" Sun trailed off as their intimate position became visible to him. For a fraction of a heartbeat Yang felt the heat of his gaze. He wasn't stupid either. There was no way he would have missed all the drama between her and Blake, or failed to deduce what it could mean.
He coughed. "We should get ready. We've got about ten minutes if everything goes to schedule."
"Sure," Blake pulled away from Yang. "Right both of you, I know I've said this before, but follow my lead. No matter what." She rose gracefully and then helped Yang up. "Let's not forget the objective here. We go in, we find Taiyang and Qrow, then we get out as quickly as possible. We need to make the best use of the time the others are buying for us."
Yang nodded, even if she didn't like 'No matter what,' she was well aware of what they might have to do before the night was over. She'd already had to strain her moral boundaries. With as large a conflict as the diversion was planned to be, the probability of no one getting killed was close to negligible. All this was happening for her. Those deaths would fall at her feet. At this moment, as callous as it was, she just hoped it wasn't her friends.
They had to wait about twice what Sun had said. The predetermined hour came and went. They were left biding their time in their position overlooking Vale's main courthouse. The White Fang had planned all the bells and whistles for what would have been a kangaroo court.
It was heavily guarded, but that was to be expected for a government building. Out the front there were checkpoints, even barricades to try and prevent bombings, and dozens of guards. It would have been too hard of a nut to crack even if most of the guards were drawn away.
The side entrance was less of one. Ironically, it was meant for the arrival of prisoners, if they had their way today it would be used for the reverse. There were currently eight guards overlooking the gate. A lot but, for three hunters, it was manageable.
All three of them jumped when the sky exploded. They'd all heard the plan, but hearing was very different from witnessing. The low hanging clouds that had been building for the last few hours unleashed what had been gathering within.
Calling it a lightning storm didn't do it justice. Not in the slightest. There wasn't one strike and then a rumble of thunder. Instead, the single incandescent white line almost appeared continuous as it burnt itself onto their collective vision. A ripple of sonic shockwaves erupted from the air it passed through. The thunder was almost incessant and thumped into Yang's lungs.
The outpouring of electricity raked across the ground hidden from sight behind some buildings. The same ground where hundreds of Knights had been standing in orderly ranks. They were built to resist Dust weaponry, even targeted Dust attacks, but not that. Not the unleashing of one of nature's most violent phenomena. A phenomena which, with meticulous planning and careful manipulation of primal forces, Velvet had turned up to eleven. For about the thousandth time Yang was incredibly grateful she was on their side. It wouldn't have surprised her if the Knights were being vaporised the moment the white column touched them.
The gunfire and explosions were barely audible over the still continuing thunder. It highlighted that though society claimed to hold dominion over nature, in some ways they were so lacking. How could simple bullets compare to that?
They couldn't, not really, but they tried. Coco's gun was far too distinct for its reports to be anything else. Reine de Beauté would be raking the building which the White Fang had selected for their barracks. It was perhaps someone with good humour who'd chosen the old Atlesian Embassy. With the other member of their team, some of the other cells, and whatever Neo could concoct, the idea was to make it seem like they were under attack from a far superior force.
And entranced by the lightning strike, they might well have been. Yang didn't want to think what would happen if Velvet turned that on the Embassy. It would likely have ripped through every floor in a heartbeat.
Blake clamped a hand over Yang's eyes. He night vision was entirely ruined. All she could see was a white blur. "Focus Yang," Blake had to raise her voice to be heard, her own eyes were closed to a squint.
Yang turned away and took over shielding her eyes. Her sight began to return. "Right."
"Let's give it a few minutes."
The guards outside the gate had been ripped from their boring duty and were staring towards the commotion just as enraptured as Yang had been. All apart from the sergeant who was barking into his radio, trying to find out what the hell was going on.
"Remember the plan. Fast, quick, and most importantly silent." Blake rose from her crouch.
Together they made their way to the wall next to the gate. Sun held out his hands to make a stirrup. The razor wire topped wall wasn't high enough that it was a major barrier to any of them. Though Yang would have had to fire Ember Celica to gain enough lift; they couldn't afford that.
Blake went first. Just a wraith in the darkness. Yang wasn't as graceful, but she landed inside the compound lightly, hidden from the guards by a van. Blake had vanished and Yang exchanged glances with Sun when he dropped down.
Blake reappeared a heartbeat later, dragging a struggling figure after her. A wire wrapped around his throat. Yang turned away. This was her mission. She'd known what she was asking. It didn't make it any easier to see her friend strangling someone to death though. Blake just made it seem like such a non-event. Safely hidden from view she'd flipped him onto his front and with a knee in his back pulled hard. He went still.
From her expression Blake didn't seem like she'd just killed a man. It was entirely neutral. She wasn't even out of breath. She made a few quick gestures. "Seven targets. Yang, nearest two. Sun, middle three. Me, furthest. In three, two, one…"
They came round the side of the van at a sprint. The closest didn't know what had hit him. As Blake used her Semblance to leap forward and Sun sent his clones out, Yang struck him in the temple. There was absolutely zero finesse in her blow. It crashed against his Aura and as it struggled to recover her right fist caught the underside of his jaw. He dropped as if poleaxed.
She didn't let that small victory distract her. Her other target was just turning when Ember Celica's metal plate slammed into the bridge of his nose. It shattered. She drove a fist into stomach and, as bent forward with air erupting form his lungs, her fist slammed down on his neck.
With both her targets down Yang turned to see how she could help the others. She couldn't. They'd been just as efficient as her. Sun's were splayed about him, his staff on his shoulder. Blake was crouched over hers. The three of them had just managed to take down seven White Fang in a matter of seconds without anyone firing a shot. So far so good.
Blake threw her something and Yang caught it out of instinct. In her hands were a number of paired loops of hard plastic. "Do their hands and wrists. We want to come back through here." Yang realised what she was holding. They were plastic cuffs. She slipped them over the limbs of her two targets and pulled them tight, the ratchets clicking.
"Get the one behind the van as well," Blake instructed her.
What? He was… Yang checked him. The skin of his throat was marred by a wide bruise, but he was still breathing. Blake had stopped between the critical moment when he slipped out of consciousness and out of life.
The sudden realisation that one of the deaths that had fallen on her shoulders was in fact not one rocked her. She'd expected the worst of Blake; she'd thought she'd killed him. Just like she had before to who knew how many. They'd never specifically discussed what had come between the pair of them. In many ways they'd both known, and Blake was making an effort. She could have choked him to death; it certainly would have been safer. But she'd chosen not to. For her. To try and preserve their relationship. It gave Yang hope for the future.
After dragging the rest of the unconscious bodies into the corners of the small courtyard, Yang realised the cacophony of thunder had stopped. The sky that had been its source was still glowing, the clouds roiling, and smoke rose into the air from below it, but Velvet's attack had ceased.
In its absence the gunfire and explosions were even more pronounced. Dozens of them a second. The pip of small arms fire, the crack of higher calibre weapons, and the rumble of Coco's. There were too many for it to be one-sided though. They were doing that for her. She needed to make it count.
"Let's get going." She gestured Blake to lead the way. None of them had been inside before, but Blake's enhanced senses would serve them better.
Through the doors there was a small reception where the transferred prisoners could be checked in and examined before their trial, and a number of temporary holding cells. Fortune would have been favouring them indeed if her dad and Qrow had been in those; instead they were likely to be in the more secure cells deeper into the building.
Blake led them forward at a trot, occasionally motioning them to pause before carrying on. With two Faunus by her side Yang felt like a liability. To her senses the corridor was dark, her surroundings silent. She couldn't pick up any of the reasons why Blake stopped every so often.
They ran into two more groups on their way. The first Yang held no regrets over. The two White Fang members had been dispatched easily and without trouble. The second less so. On one of the many pauses a door right next to Yang had opened and figure appeared in it.
Yang had only just managed to pull her punch. It hadn't been someone in a White Fang uniform, rather a middle-aged woman in a smart shirt carrying a coffee. She hadn't had an activated Aura. A punch from a hunter might very well have killed her. As it was even the reduced force of the blow had sent her cartwheeling backwards.
The horror of what she'd done had caused her heart to seize up. A feeling only alleviated when Blake started to move her into the recovery position. Yang hadn't killed her, but she never should have struck like that in the first place. Any one of her teacher's would have been disgusted by her. Attacking without fully analysing the situation was one of the first things that was drilled out of potential hunters at combat schools. She knew better, but the tension and the skulking just had her so on edge.
Blake had cuffed the woman to the table, turned out the lights, and shut the door. As much as Yang would have liked to, they didn't have the time to hang around. Blake could do that. She could compartmentalise herself. Push her emotions one way and logic the other. They'd done all this for a reason and tending a wounded civilian would jeopardise that. It was what made Blake so suited to this world, and Yang not so. She was her emotions. Her anger, her regret, her love. She couldn't any more separate herself from them than she could her Aura. It was a strength and it was a weakness.
They made it into the underbelly of the courthouse without further incident. This was a place that few would ever see. It didn't have the ostentatious grandiosity of the area above where the judges and lawyers would walk, instead it would only ever have been seen by the prisoners and their jailors.
Consequently, security was much tighter. The only entry to the cell complex was through a heavy remote controlled gate. It was designed so a prisoner wouldn't be able to run, but it hindered them equally as much.
Though, as usual, Blake had foreseen this particular scenario and came prepared. She wrapped a White Fang armband around her bicep and passed another to Sun. She then turned to Yang with a mischievous grin. "How do you fancy playing our prisoner?"
"Umm…" she wished they'd discussed this previously.
Blake leaned in, dangling a pair of plastic cuffs on her finger, and whispered seductively. "I'll get to tie you up."
Yang spluttered. It wasn't often that Blake was able to exceed her in terms of lewdness, but she'd just managed it. Her whisper had been accompanied by dark promise. Blake knew exactly what she was implying.
Yang could feel the heat rushing to her face. They might have had their problems, but on a physical level she still found Blake incredibly attractive. To hear her whisper like that caused Yang's insides to squirm. In her exploratory phase she'd dabbled with both sides of some light bondage, but it had never really captured her imagination. However, in the future ̶ ̶ after they'd decided if they were going to try again ̶ ̶ if Blake wanted to try some heavier stuff… Well Yang was willing to try anything once.
"Sure," Yang said hoarsely. She missed the look Sun had sent her way. In his mind at least, Yang was a direct rival for Blake's affections.
"Good. Do you mind?" She tapped the still deployed Ember Celica.
"Oh right." Yang hit a pair of buttons and shook her arms. Her weapons retracted to their usual form.
"Thanks," Blake smiled sweetly as she pulled Yang's arms behind her. Yang wasn't sure if it was her imagination that Blake's touch seemed to be slightly rougher than usual. Thick plastic bands enclosed her wrists.
Yang tested her bonds. Her wrists were separated by just a few millimetres and as such the movement of her arms was severely restricted. The cuffs were strong enough that she likely wouldn't have been able to break them through pure strength, but Blake hadn't ratcheted them all the way closed. Though they would pass a casual inspection there was just enough space to slip her hands out.
Blake checked her handiwork, grasping Yang's wrists and moving her arms around. "They're not too tight are they?" Yang shook her head. "Good. Keep pressure on them so they don't slip down, and don't say anything. Let us do the talking. Ok?"
"Fine."
"Just look surly. You're good at that." That earned Blake a scowl. "See?"
"You know what to do?" she asked Sun.
"Yeah, shouldn't be too difficult." If he was jealous of what he'd just witnessed he managed to keep it out of his voice.
"Right, and remember Yang you're a prisoner." To reinforce the words she grasped Yang's shoulder and pushed her forward suddenly, throwing her off balance. With her arms pinned she would have fallen if not for Blake's grip.
"Thanks," Yang growled through gritted teeth as her stumble took her into the main corridor where she was likely under surveillance.
Sun took a position on her other side and all three of them marched towards the metal bars of the jail door. A bored guard looked up when Blake rapped her knuckles on them. His face filled with puzzlement.
"What are you doing here?"
"Prisoner transfer," Blake nudged Yang a little bit closer.
"What? Everyone has been moved from here."
That was news to them. Blake rode with it though. "Great. We spend all day bringing her in and someone hasn't told us our orders have changed. That's just typical," Blake spat. "Look can we just get her in a cell, so we can try and work out what the hell is going on?"
"Umm… I'm not meant to let anyone in."
"It would only be for a few minutes while we get in contact with our superiors," Sun spoke up. "We normally wouldn't bother, but she's proven a handful." Yang took that as her cue and jostled her captors. Sun punched her in the kidneys. It hadn't been a hard blow, not really. She hadn't been expecting it though and she had to bend over gasping. "See? She's been a pain in the ass."
"Yeah, umm... who did you say you were again?" The guard still wasn't sure.
"Look buddy, we didn't. Guess why? I take it you've only just signed up." The guard nodded, "Then you're probably smart enough not to ask questions when you shouldn't. There's a reason we're not in a full uniform. Understand?"
"Yes… sir," The guard added as he thumbed the button to unlock the door. Blake pushed the gate open and prodded Yang until she was standing before the counter.
"Thanks," she said. "Are any of the cells being used?"
"No they're all free. I'm stuck here alone guarding absolutely nothing."
What? Where the hell were her dad and uncle? They were meant to be here. The guard had said everyone earlier, but Yang had thought he'd been exaggerating. She fought down an expletive.
"All of them? Where are all the prisoners?" Blake asked.
"They've been moved to the front. It should give the Atlesians something else to think about." Yang resisted grimacing. The White Fang had decided to make use of human shields. Just when she'd thought they couldn't get any worse.
"Surely not all of them. What about those two big shots that were meant to be having a trial?"
"No not th… Wait who did you say she was again?"
"They didn't," Yang growled. The hard plastic of the cuff scraped her skin as she pulled a hand free and she grabbed the front of his uniform. Pulling him over the counter she slammed him into the floor. "Where are they?"
Her assault had left him winded and only coughs answered her.
"Sun go check if there's anyone else around." Yang turned her attention back to the guard, slapping him to get his attention. "Where are the two leaders of the Resistance?"
"I… I…"
"Think very, very carefully before saying you don't know. You might make me lose my temper." He was entirely in her power. He barely had an Aura to speak of. They'd got lucky that he wasn't one of the stronger White Fang members, but at the same time one of the core was unlikely to be stuck sitting behind a desk when there was so much else to do.
"I don ̶ ̶ "
Yang lifted him about a foot from the floor and threw him back down. His head bounced from the tiles. "You admitted you did. Where is my dad!" she shouted in his face, flames dripping from her hair.
That was what really caught his attention. He suddenly knew just how outclassed he was. His eyes went wide with sheer terror. Yang punched him. With him on the floor below her it wasn't a particularly powerful strike, but a rib still snapped beneath her knuckles. "Where are they!"
"Shit…" his hands went to protect his chest. "Shit that hurts." Yang raised her fist again. "No!" She halted.
"Where are they?" Yang repeated. In her anger, and fear getting the answer was all that mattered.
"They took them upstairs. About an hour ago…" He stopped to pull in haggard breaths. "After they'd cleared out all the other prisoners. I think they were taking them to the main courtroom. That's all I know. I promise."
Just when Yang was considering making sure, Blake pushed her way between them. She crouched over the guard and pressed her thumb to his neck. After a few moments he went limp. Blake rose with no expression on her face.
It was only then that Yang realised what she'd done. What she'd been prepared to do. Even in unconsciousness, the guard's chest rose and fell unevenly. Her throat filled with bile.
She was a hypocrite.
The worst one imaginable. Torture was easy for her to abhor, as long as it wasn't her who needed the information. With her dad and uncle in danger, everything she'd believed she was had just been forgotten. Her morals turned off as if they were connected to a switch.
In the end it had been Blake who had given him mercy. Not her. She couldn't take the high ground any longer. She wasn't allowed to.
Sun was back, standing slightly to the side and not entirely sure as to what he'd just missed. Blake looked at him as she was restraining the guard. "They're all empty. He was telling the truth."
"Yeah we found out as much. Taiyang and Qrow are apparently upstairs, which means we're probably going to have to go in hard. We won't get another chance. We can only hope the diversion actually worked." Blake gave a brief and dirty summation of their new plan.
It wasn't much of one. Then again the only other option would have been to leave and try again another time. After getting this close, it wasn't an option.
"I'm game," Sun said. "We better get moving though. We've burned enough time as it is."
"Yeah," Blake pressed the button to unlock the door. "You good Yang?"
She wasn't, she loathed herself, but now was not the time for self-depreciation. She nodded.
They headed off at a run. Sun had been right. This was meant to be a snatch and grab raid. The distraction team were never meant to hold off the forces that would be converging on them. They were just meant to make a lot of noise and then fade away.
With the knowledge of just where the majority of prisoners were the lack of people they'd run into made a lot more sense. It was both lucky and unlucky. They were less likely to be questioned, but they also couldn't blend into the crowd.
Their silent rush up the flights of stairs was halted when the walls suddenly shook. Even underground the roar of an explosion reached them.
"What the hell is going on up there?" Sun swore, obviously worried about his teammates who were in the thick of it.
It was a rhetorical question. None of them knew. All they knew was an explosion of that size had not been in the plan.
They started up again. Reaching the ground floor, their boots transitioned from practical tiles to polished hardwood planks. It was much easier to run outside of the narrow corridors and the offices to either side were a blur.
In the antechamber of the courthouse they ran into the first real opposition. Blake threw open the double doors and a squad of White Fang were waiting. Well, that wasn't entirely accurate. To Yang's eyes it seemed as they'd been playing poker.
The three of them didn't need to communicate. They went in and they went in hard. Blake arrived at their table first, whipping Gambol Shroud's sheath off her back she didn't try for finesse. Her two handed strike hit the nearest on the back of the head.
She'd either judged the strength of his Aura well, or she just didn't care as he was catapulted from his chair with his skull intact. Immediately Blake spun to the side, chopping at an arm that was just going for its weapon. The bone snapped and the owner's scream was curtailed by a strike to his throat.
Sun arrived moments after. He leapt onto the table and slammed his staff down. The ornate wood cracked in two. The cards and chips were scattered into the air on an invisible wave of energy. Its effects on the participants of the game were less profound, but those who were still sitting were knocked back over their chairs.
Sun flipped out of the wreckage of the table, switched his staff into its nunchaku form, and became a maelstrom of the swinging wood and chains. His weapons lashed out at wherever he could reach. Skulls, forearms, knees, they were all equal value targets.
Compared to her teammates' arrivals Yang's was late. It wasn't any less effective though. As those who'd been displaced by the surprise of Sun and Blake's attacks were only just beginning to react to them, Yang hit them from behind.
With Ember Celica shielding her hands and concentrating the force of her knuckles all the but the strongest of Aura's were scant protection from her rage-fuelled strikes. They hammered home. Yang waded in, her arms blurring, catching whatever attacks were sent her way and returning them with interest. The White Fang soldiers fell around her like wheat before a scythe.
They might have been outnumbered five to one, but they were hunters and coupled with the initiative their opponents barely stood a chance. Yang had downed four of hers when a gun went off. More soldiers poured into the room.
All three of them reacted to the gunshot in the same way. Blake emptied her magazine, Sun cycled Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang rapidly, and Yang raised both of the muzzles of her weapon to her opponent's chest. Ember Celica bucked and he was thrown across the room.
The new soldiers were tougher, they hadn't been taken by surprise, and their Aura's didn't crumble within a few blows. They weren't civilians who had just signed up and been given a gun, they had likely been fighting for years.
For the first time since entering the room, hard-hitting blows began to come Yang's way. In the haze of flailing figures she lost track of where Blake and Sun were. She caught a blade on Ember Celica, flung it to the side, and threw a straight jab along the path it had come from. It struck home with a reassuring thud, but she'd paid for her lack of awareness when something else slammed into her side.
Yang growled rounding on the latest threat. The only good side of getting hit was she could feel her Semblance building. It was a pressure behind her eyes, in her veins. It would keep building until it was physically painful and she could release it in a single burst. It wasn't entirely useless up to that point though, some still leaked out. Her strikes became faster, stronger, her Aura sounder, and fire glowed in her wake.
Yang ducked under a swing, hammered a blow home to the Faunus' stomach, before bringing her knee up to meet his descending face. His head snapped back against his neck gratifyingly. Yang was taking a heavy toll on her enemies, a brawl in an enclosed room was where she excelled, but whenever she dropped one opponent there was always another just waiting to step into the hole.
She risked a glance to locate her teammates. Sun was giving as good as he was getting, three clones evening the numbers, but Blake was struggling. She excelled at hit and run tactics, confusion and misdirection being her main allies. There was little scope for that here. Blake had backed into a corner and was defending herself desperately with both Gambol Shroud and its sheath.
Redoubling the ferocity of her attacks Yang began to wade her way over to her partner. It was wading. Every single step closer was a victory. It seemed that Sun had come to the same conclusion. He and his clones were fighting their way towards Blake and Yang linked with him.
It was then that she slipped. Her boot had sought to gain purchase on a poker chip and it had slid away from her. Normally she would have been able to recover. It would only have taken a quick step to her side, but she was in the midst of a brutal melee and a hammer blow to her back hastened her trip to the floor.
Gasping, amidst the sea of shuffling legs, Yang saw her attacker, she saw him raise his blade high, and she saw Sun glance her way. For a long, long, instant they locked eyes. Yang saw how he noticed her predicament, her attacker standing over her, saw him calculate just what could happen, and in that moment he turned away, closing his eyes.
She understood that as well. He'd held his tongue every time he'd seen her and Blake together, but it was obvious what was behind some of their interactions. Deep-seated feeling, whether affection or apathy, they were there. He saw her as his direct and only rival to Blake's affections. If something were to happen to her, something unavoidable, there wasn't any blame to be levied about, and they would all need shoulders to cry on, Blake especially. And maybe, after she'd recovered from her grief, she'd remember who had been there for her.
Yang could understand Sun's reasoning, but it was cold beyond belief. She'd never let someone die just because they were competition. Fury surged into her blood and she directed it all to her Aura to try and stop the blow.
It never landed. A ghostly staff intercepted the blade and a pair of legs straddled her, giving her opportunity to rise. Sun had turned away from her only to block an attack that was heading his way, and he'd sent what help he could.
If they weren't already red with exertion, her cheeks would have been scarlet with shame. It was unbelievable she'd thought that of him. They might not have always gotten along, but he'd never given any reason for her to believe he'd be a willing party to her death.
Yang sought to make it up to him. A cone of buckshot lifted some of the pressure from his flanks and together they made steady to Blake's side. Only for her to disappear in a flash of violet when they arrived. "Get to the main room!" Blake called to them, as she disappeared and reappeared half a dozen times in a few seconds. The violet mist, her Shadows left in their wake, began to spread out obscuring everything.
Yang made good use of it, trusting that Sun was on her heels, she ploughed her way through the inky darkness. If the brawl had been confusing before, it was even more so now. It was impossible for her to see past the end of her nose, but where the odds were in favour of the White Fang striking their comrades, she was free to hit out at anyone she encountered.
The three of them erupted from the darkness into the courtroom proper. Yang spotted her family immediately. They were wearing orange jumpsuits and chained kneeling in the middle of the room where the defendants were normally stood. Over them were members of the White Fang elite.
Her dad's face was bruised and Qrow's wasn't much better. At the reveal of how they'd been treated the fires of her rage became an inferno. The White Fang had done this to her family, her blood. It shouldn't have mattered more than everyone they'd caused to suffer before but it did.
Taiyang slumped when he saw who his rescuer was. "Yang!" he roared in a voice loud enough to shake the great window in the roof dozens of feet above. A rifle butt slammed into the base of his skull, but he fought through the pain. "Run! It's a trap!"
No sooner were the words free on the air than did more doors jump open. The steady, rhythmic footfalls heralded the arrival of what must have been over a hundred Knights, they in turn were accompanied by more of the White Fang core.
The three would be rescuers slid to a stop a score of feet away from the prisoners as they were all encircled by a force at least three deep. Weapons bristled from the ranks. They went back to back, but Yang knew it would be no use. They were good, very good. But no one was this good.
The relief and anger that had gushed up inside of her at the sight of her family faded. Blake had been right. Entirely right. She been stupid to think she knew better than Blake, and in her arrogance she'd led her friends to their deaths. There was no way out. No way to escape this many. They'd be able to take a good number with them, but in the end it wouldn't matter.
Her dad, someone who she loved and hated in equal measure, bucked against his restraints as he sought to come to his daughter's aid. Just like their situation, it was hopeless and he only received more blows for his trouble. But at least he was trying to resist. Qrow was just kneeling there, eyes closed, not doing anything. His will was already broken.
The warmth of her friends' shoulders against her own was comforting. She'd always wanted to die with her friends at her side, just not this soon.
"Do you think it's too late to join up?" Sun's question brought a smile to her lips.
"Probably," Yang replied looking at those around her. They didn't seem to be in a recruiting mood.
"Shame." Yang could picture his grin. "Well it's been real guys. Not how I pictured going out, but I wouldn't change anything." They'd all accepted their fate with good graces. In their career paths, they had to be ready for it.
"Me neither," Yang bumped his shoulder.
"Look," Blake spoke up, "They'll be coming after me. I can buy you guys some time. Just run and don't look back."
Blake was always so selfless, and sometimes unbelievably stupid. If not for the situation Yang would have hit her. "Not a fucking a chance." Her body wouldn't even have let her run from a friend in need. "We either all escape, or we all go down together."
"Damn straight," Sun confirmed.
"See? No more of this bullshit martyr nonsense." Yang raised her fists in front of her, and Sun readied his weapons too.
Blake sniffed, blinking rapidly. "You're the best friends anyone could ask for." Blake brought Gambol Shroud up. "Now let's make these fuckers pay." It was a sentiment they all whole-heartedly believed in. Despite how badly they outnumbered them as the White Fang took in the look on their faces, some of them appeared nervous.
The ranks around them split and a figure walked through it. It wasn't Adam, but Blake obviously recognised him and the reverse was true as well. "Blake."
"Mahog."
"Such a surprise to run into each other like this."
Blake didn't dignify him with an answer.
"Adam wants you." Again she remained silent. "Fine, you always did think you were better than the rest of us. Have it your way."
Yang sensed what was coming next. She sent her heart questing out into the world until she could almost believe it found Ruby's. "I'm sorry Rubes," she whispered. "Stick by Weiss, she loves you. I love you too. I always will. I'll be waiting for you." With that final epitaph Yang was ready.
The White Fang officer's next words fell like the headsman's axe. "Keep Blake alive, kill the ̶ ̶ "
A red and black portal ripped a hole in the air and a tall figure strode from it as if she intended to move the world.
The woman's appearance set all kinds of alarm bells ringing for Yang. She could swear she'd seen her before, but couldn't remember where. She should have been able to. The newcomer was certainly distinctive in her Grimm mask, and with the way she was gripping the hilt of her sword still in its scabbard. The sense of Déjà vu tugged at the back of her mind.
"You will not touch them!" the newcomer hissed in a sibilant voice that caused all of Yang's hairs to stand on end.
Taiyang's face turned as pale as a sheet. Qrow eyes flared open and he whispered disbelievingly.
"Raven…"
A/N: Cue Raven's epic entrance music. A fair number of you saw that coming, but with her daughter, her brother, and her ex all in danger it was sort of obvious. We'll be right back here next week so you won't have long to wait.
As always I hope you enjoyed and please let me know what you thought.
