Chapter 50: Cold Shadows
The Stranger
Dust was flying through the air. In point of fact, there were so many dust rounds and dust shrapnel bits gliding through the air that the Stranger wondered how much of the air they breathed in was actually air and not in fact dust. The Stranger thought that percentage would be rather low. Their plan was working well enough, a cam bot was collecting all the necessary images, all the peak scenes and climax shots as war took mountain Glenn. Faunus and human bodies littered the ground next to each other, to the Stranger's amusement some were even in an embrace.
Their purposeful omitting of this squadron's presence on the Atlessian map was working wonders. The Faunus unit had let their guard down as they slipped past the checkpoint and the scouts were sent on ahead to the 'Target's location, on a route the Stranger figured would bypass the Atlas encampment. Most of the Faunus were unaware of their hated enemies' presence until a flurry of machinegun fire ripped a few unaura'd cats and bears and other animals into bite-sized chunks. And then the battle began in earnest.
"AMBUSH!" some moron had shouted. Said moron lasted 4 minutes until pulse fire cut him down.
Atlas is playing for keeps. The Stranger thought almost glad that the fang's presence had got out, turns out the Atlessian military takes exception to someone killing their men. They took particular exception to them systematic killings of the squads on mountain Glenn's fringes. If only they knew about the torture, then this would be a really intense fight.
The stranger was sat atop the building the Fang had hurriedly turned into a defensive position, it was across the street from the Atlas encampment that was more well-armed and far more prepared for "uninvited guests". The Stranger just sat, eyes glued onto their scroll as the cam bot recorded more and more scenes of violence. Every now and again one side would split off and attempt the charge-flank the other only to be cut down. It was a fun little lesson in battle tactics, the fang had more men but the Atlessians had the element of surprise, one side was used to fighting on the back foot while the other was better trained. Both we're waiting for reinforcements, Atlas was expecting its nearby squads to bolster it and The Fang were waiting for Adam Taurus and the rest of the little band.
Both firmly hated one another.
Now the winner will be determined by who arrives first. The Stranger mused as they caught a perfect clip of an Atlas soldier taking the full force of a grenade to the face. The Stranger smiled and marked that clip for later. That's the money shot.
A bullet winged past the Stranger's ear and with a quick flip they landed themselves back behind cover, unperturbed. Parsing through their scroll they decided to check up on how the scouting unit was doing with the Dragon. It took a hot second for the blurry helm cam footage to appear on the scroll and balance out. The area was a dingy crumbling ruin, so in that sense, it was just the same as any other part of mountain Glenn. The squad was well-armed, well trained and definitely outclassed.
But them succeeding in kill Yang was not the Stranger's plan, not even close, they just needed to know where that Blonde bimbo was hiding. Every member of the white fang could be cold and in the ground that it wouldn't bother the Stranger so long as the mission ended right, so long as they got that bitch.
A rocket blew apart a whole section of the wall next to the stranger and they barely turned their head, so focused were they on this goal. I will find you, bitch, I will Burn you!
Yang
The Adrenaline was pumping hard inside Yang's head, it always got like this right before a fight, good or bad, and it always exhilarated her to no end. She figured that rush would go away after a while that it would fade away like other such rushes but this one stayed, it helped her get up in the morning and it helped her get through the day, this sort of rush was a blessed constant.
The situation was this a group of about 6 fangers had entered the building, a few more were still on the outside through their numbers were harder to determine even when Yang focused her senses. It was just her and Blake in the cramped enclosed space of the ruined building. It was a new challenge, and something to take her mind off of her worries with Ruby… and her hopes. Yang focused her mind on those hopes, on what could be and no matter how naïve or overly glorious the image was she focused on it and hoped.
I'm going to fight on cloud nine. Yang through her fingers pressed against a wall leading into the hallway. She stretched out her senses, feeling, smelling and most importantly sensing. The fang were approaching the building, heading closer and closer to her position by the wall. They were close but not close enough yet.
They're angry, exhilarated, and afraid. She'd sensed it before but it was nice to double-check, she expected the fear to spike at any moment now.
The fang were methodically sweeping the rooms, inching closer and closer.
Yang took one hand off the wall. The fang moved closer. Yang pulled the hand back into a fist, feeling her knuckles pop as she tightened them. The first fanger had moved past her position.
Can't be him. Yang mused as she waited for the middle Faunus of the squad to be where she needed them to be. Yang focused her aura to her hands and knuckles and let out a cool breath. There!
Yang's fist shot out quick as lighting and shattered a hole through the stone and concrete wall. As her hand approached what she was sure was a Faunus chin it turned from a fist to a grasping hand. Her fingers hooked onto the top of the fanger's breastplate. He yelped, his compatriots shouted and Blake started to unload. Gambol shroud fired down the hallway as Blake jumped from her perch, jumping between rooms. A stray shot from the katana gun slapped against Yang's aura'd arm. Yang let out a growl before jerking her arm back, and half pulling the Faunus soldier through the wall. He stared dazedly at her for a few seconds before she struck him in the face with a right hook.
With that strike she was off like a bolt, hopping up the building into the next room through holes in the wall as pulse fire tore the room she'd been into shreds in an outpouring of gunfire. Her arm where Gambol shroud had shot still stung as she moved to the next position. She'd intended this location to be a meeting place and as such had left it largely explosive free, much to her ire.
Still, I can't complain, if the Fang wants an ass-kicking then it's a good thing that I need to deliver one. Yang thought as she rolled out into the hallway, seeing that the 5 remaining fangers were either aiming to their left where she had been or upwards where Blake had been firing from. The ones who'd been aiming at Blake noticed her first since Yang was coming from the same direction.
As they started to adjust their aim accordingly, Yang fired ember Celica behind herself and was blasted right at the frightened Faunus. Her knee struck the face of the first one and she was thrown back. The second managed to duck underneath Yang's spinning back fist but was unable to avoid her sweeping leg follow-up. As he fell to the floor, Yang's hand shot out and punched him in the chest shooting him back.
As the faunus sailed through the air, Blake sprinted out… right into the flying body's pathway. As the fanger struck her, her shadow clone took the hit. Blake scowled at Yang, before firing a few errant shots at the Fang. The rest had recovered and were turning on the blonde bruiser and Blake. Jumping through a wall again, Yang started making the distance between her and her pursuers. She stopped at a point and when Blake suddenly showed up in front of her, she was only able to stop her fist from hitting Blake's face by a hair's breadth.
"What the hell was that?!" Blake whisper shouted at her partner. Yang could feel the blood pumping to her head and could tell that her face was quickly becoming beat red.
"Me?" Yang spat pointing at herself incredulously. "You're the one who shot me in the middle of my ambush! Ever think about friendly fire?"
Blake's hair bristled and Yang was about to add 'and another thing' but the look of hatred on her former friend's face checked her. It infuriated her to no end, don't be mistaken but she felt regret at that and the urge to fix things… the ass-kicking would come later.
"I'm…" Yang took a deep DEEP breath. "I'm sorry Blake, I should have coordinated better. Let's take this…" it killed her to even suggest this. "…slow"
The look on Blake's face was suspicious and more than a little skeptical. She loaded in a new magazine into Gambol shroud.
"It'll be a while before we can pull off Bumblebee again." She muttered though Yang hoped she heard a little humor in her words. "I'll wrap a few you tap them."
Yang nodded.
"You hit them from the east ill come in from the north" Yang added, receiving confirmation back from the Faunus. And like that, they were off again. Yang kept to the shadows keeping the Fange'sr feelings and sounds keen in her mind, she was determined not to lose their position as she worked her way through them until she had them in her sights.
When she acquired sight of them, through another bullet hole in a wall, her ears picked up something stranger.
"Scout Squad Growl to Green ghost, repeat scout squad Growl to green ghost. Target location confirmed, repeat target confirmed." They were speaking into a scroll and the voice that spoke back was so muffled by static that Yang could hardly identify it. There was something, familiar about it anyway.
"Hold her" buzzed through the static of the scroll. "I'll be there soon."
Yang had definitely heard that voice before, she could sense it, feel it and with that feeling came a cold dread. She drowned the dread within her Grimm and set her stance waiting for the opening that Blake was preparing for her. it came out quickly and silently, Yang almost missed it, the weapon was flung into the room tassel trailing behind the gun. The weapon spun through the air like a boomerang, wrapped around and as the tassel hit the shoulder of the first Faunus, it pulled taut and the sickle-pistol fired. The sickle spun faster wrapping the Faunus on the group's edge in the tassel, while the shots that the weapon spat out each hit one of the nearby fangers. The first had their gun arm encased in stone, the second had ice coating their chest and the third got a bolt of electricity to the face.
It was then that Yang sprinted out, she reached the electrified fanger just as Gambol shroud locked itself completely around its subject. Grabbing the still zapped fellow Yang chucked him headfirst into the head of the wrapped-up terrorist. To Yang's eternal joy their heads did indeed make a bonk! Noise on impact. The thrown Faunus fell and Yang launched out a sprinting sidekick against the wrapped target. As he flew back down the hall, Blake ran out the other end of Gambol shroud in her hands. Blake ran towards the stunned Faunus and away from the direction Yang had sent the wrapped target. She didn't roar like Yang would have she merely gave her former brother and sister a disappointed look before pulling on the string.
It was like a rubber band, the force Yang had thrown the fanger had redoubled in the force it sent back at the collected Faunus. It was like bowling pins meaty, whining bowling pins. Yang had to laugh at the sight as numerous auras were broken and the whole squad fell apart. Blake had a satisfied look on her face and turned to say something to Yang when the blonde rushed forward to the downed Faunus.
She landed on top of one straddling them, the male Faunus stared up at her, their faceplate cracked showing off their frightened eyes. Yang leered down at them before cocking her fist back and unleashing a lightning-quick flurry of blows on their face, knocking them back and forth, back and forth.
"YANG!" Blake shouted but Yang held up a hand to stop her friend's advance.
"Hold that thought, Blake," Yang said still grinning at the terrorist who was now struggling to raise their hands to defend against Yang's assault. Yang's fist shot out through the pitiful barricade of that Faunus' arms striking home on their chin. Under that strike, the straddled Faunus' Aura cracked. The worry and terror doubled as they realized what they were now without.
"There," Yang said standing up being sure to keep the Faunus pinned beneath her boot. "He was the only one with remaining aura. Hopefully, they won't be stupid enough to try anything now.
Yang didn't need to turn around she could smell it in the air, it came off of Blake and the Grimm inside her growled. It was then that Yang realized something, she'd been running harder that past month than she had ever run in her entire life on the run, it was day in day out action, while she was able to rest the pressure of days still weighed on her. That weight on her shoulders helped the Grimm come to the forefront because the Grimm never tire, never rest and never regret and she needed that this week more than ever. "What did you think I was just going to burst his brains all over the concrete here?"
"I didn't know what you were doing" Blake answered, which more than confirmed what Yang had been thinking.
"It's alright, it's ok," Yang said letting out a shuddering hissing breath. "It was tempting."
Yang lifted her boot off of the Faunus and as a look of relief came over his face Yang's boot shot down and slammed into his head. It wasn't hard enough to kill him but it was enough to render him unconscious.
"I've only ever killed one person with my bare hands in my life Blake" Yang kept her back to her partner and looked down at her upraised palms, she remembered all she could about what she'd done to Cinder what she left, but she could never remember the blow, never remember the witches skull breaking under her knuckles. "I can remember who she was, what she looked like… before and after but I can't remember doing it, not the moment at least… have you ever killed someone?"
Blake was quiet for a while as Yang continued to examine her palms and listen to the Grimm rumble inside her head.
"No" she finally said quietly. "But I was there when others did, and I did nothing."
Yang closed her hands and turned back to Blake who was hugging herself, the memories clearly uncomfortable with her. "I can't remember when I did it; it's a blur in my mind. But I don't think I regret it."
Yang gazed down at the white fang around, avoiding Blake's judgment.
"So you're proud of it?" Blake asked.
"No…" Yang answered simply and Blake was about to make a retort when Yang raised her hand to stop her. "We're missing one."
Yang looked around and unfolded Ember Celica once again. There had been 6 fangers, the one she pulled through a wall, the 4 they'd knocked unconscious here and one more. Blake when Quiet and her ears twitched as she tried to pick up sound. Her finger shot downward and she raised a single finger, the message was simple.
One Floor down.
Yang nodded rushing to the building's stairs while Blake jumped out the window repelling down. Blake was likely silent but this time Yang allowed herself to make an entrance, she jumped down the bottom steps and hit the ground with a boom on the floor's landing. She was going to intimidate this one, let him marinate in his fear, it would make her job easier. As she looked up and into the nearby doorway, she saw the missing fanger and another person who was… rainbow.
"Oh hiya, Yang!" Neon said as she dropped the unconscious white fang member to give Yang a wave. "Oooohhhh I love the new look, though I think jumpsuit orange might work better, it'll hide the dark bags under your eyes"
Yang's eyebrow twitched in annoyance and anger towards whatever god ruled over fate that dropped this annoying jerk back into her lap.
It's some piss poor luck.
Clover
Tyr squad had arrived first, they'd been in the right place at the right time it had paid off. Clover looked over the battle that was in full swing between the fang and Atlessian troops. Shots were being exchanged back and forth between the two forces as Tyr squad watched the proceedings deciding what the best course of action to take was. The rest of the squad said nothing as his mind processed they trusted him enough to pick what to do. Clover gazed over his squad and made a quick analysis of his assets.
Bremer. The thick northern Atlessian was pure muscle, thick as an ox and twice as belligerent, he'd fought Yang Xiao Long before and had been smart enough to maintain distance and work on whittling down her aura. The big man was the team long-distance heavy and had been training up for this rematch for years now.
Marrow. The only member of Ace ops that had been brought with him, his semblance of 'Stay was too useful to pass up and the dog Faunus was always keen on what was right in a given situation. Sometimes it helped to have a moral compass.
Viviane. Now she was the ace in the hole, she was a tall dark-haired woman with strangely piercing blue eyes and she carried a single dust cartridge sword. She had a semblance that allowed her to redirect any force thrown at her back at her opponent. She was meant to throw Yang off her game physically.
Leaving Neon to throw her off mentally. Clover thought as made a mental note of the Fanger's defense. He was just grateful at that moment that The maiden was not currently with them. She was close, they'd been following her through the city for a little bit when the call from the Atlas forces in this sector had reached them. Thank goodness she had 'other things' to do.
What those other things were Clover couldn't say.
"We should help them." Marrow said in a quiet voice, Clover turned back to him, Marrow was looking out the window at the Atlas squads and the white fang. The other members of Tyr squad eyed Marrow before looking back to Clover, they were waiting for permission. Clover gave it with a wave of his hand.
Bremer spoke first in his falsetto voice. "Marrow's right, we could have these punks in the dirt in no time, and then this atlas squad would be able to back us up against the Target" he spat the word target like a curse.
"She vill not get far." Vivian intoned, her eastern mantle accent was even present. "Ve vill not let her escape zis time, let us take care of ze target zen return here. Ze target takes priority."
"What is Taurus shows up before we get back?" Marrow countered his arms outspread. It was a good point Clover had to admit. The problem with Tyr squads is that they were built to deal with specific targets, they were specialized Atlas specialists and while the profile had said that Adam Taurus had a similar semblance to Yang's it was more… diverse in its utilization.
"Vhat if he is already here?" Vivian countered, that sent a cold chill down all their spines, the Fang revolutionary leader had a specialist body count on his belt and running into such an ambush would definitely make their job harder. "Call in ze maschine girl, let her sort zis, we must focus."
Clover's scroll buzzed and he flipped it open, it was from Neon. It was a picture of Yang Xiao Long, staring frustrated and dumbly at Neon's camera while the cat Faunus posed in the lower right corner of the frame.
"Target confirmed," Clover said, he gestured to Marrow. "Call in Penny to clear up this mess" his finger shifted to Bremer. "Go into that melee and shake some things up before heading back to us."
He turned and was about to say 'move out' when a strange shape moved from the top of the fanger's building towards where Tyr squad was headed. It was a grey sheaf of rags bouncing from point to point as it moved gracefully towards their destination.
Tapping his earpiece comm-bead as he and Vivian headed to their target. "Squad be alert, unidentified element is heading towards the target location!"
"Confirmed" Vivian answered by his side.
"Confirmed" Marrow and Bremer's voice echoed over the comm-bead.
"Thanks, boss." Neon answered, with a snarling roar echoing in the background, their target no doubt.
She's angry. Clover mused. We can work with that.
He was halfway to the ruined building, his eyes still peeled for the grey rags when his scroll buzzed.
"I'm sorry it took me so long to respond" a voice intoned and immediately Clover's blood froze. "I'll be there shortly, I just… I just need to wrap some things up."
Clover checked his scroll, his comm-bead had been set to contact all of Tyr-Squad… maiden included. Clover felt worried for a second then it hit him.
This is a good thing. Clover thought. If Pyrrha has to be brought in, there's no one to catch sight of it, it's against the right target and this is the perfect location for her to let loose.
Nora
It was not going well, it was not going well at all. There was blood on Nora, her head was cut somewhere, and it was dripping down her cheeks like tears, her left arm was shredded, she'd been forced to use it to intercept an attack meant for Ran. To top it all off Magnhilde, sweet sweet might Magnhilde was in a hundred pieces, Pyrrha had sundered it and a shard from the head was stuck in Nora's upper thigh. The only solace was the storm brewing above them.
"I told you to run" Pyrrha whined to Nora, not a scratch on her, the halo of swords slowly rotating around her, she had Ren's ankle gripped tight in her left hand as she looked over the ruined city. A tear ran down her emerald eye. "I told you to run, why didn't you run… I can't stop it. Run!"
"Because" Nora took in a deep breath, the air stinging her desperate lungs as she did. "because We're your friends Pyrrha, we can't leave you."
"I know" Pyrrha muttered. "IT knows."
In an instant, a sword was in the maiden's right hand while her left threw the unconscious Ren into the air. The tall Mistralian boy was completely unconscious as he spun through the air. Nora could see what the Fall maiden had planned as soon as Ren left Pyrrha's fingers. The maiden's arm pulled back ready to impale ren right before he fell. Nora tried to move but her feet felt like so much lead.
A white blur moved in front of her vision and a de-armored Jaune threw himself between the falling Ren and Pyrrha's blade. The Maiden froze her out thrusting blade stoping a centimeter from Jaune's chest for a split second, enough time for Jaune to throw up his aura focused in the exact right position. And enough time for Ren to crash to remnant with a bone-breaking thump.
The Blade pushed against Jaune's immense, focused Aura, staggering the team leader back a step, and Nora roared out, bounding forward. This had unfortunately been their method lately, Jaune would try to break through to Pyrrha, get her to hesitate and Nora and ren would juke in and try to restrain her. Nora Vaulted over the stumbling Jaune right towards the Maiden; locking her neck in the crook of her elbow and yanking down against her former friend's throat. It fell like pulling on steel Pyrrha was so strong, but the momentum of her charge and the fact that Nora had devoted her remaining aura to her strength finally managed to tip the MRT champ backward.
"Fall dammit!" Nora roared, as the guardian of Vale slowly bent backward under Nora's effort. Then she heard the maiden laugh, it wasn't Pyrrha laugh it was a subtle low chuckle. And before she could readjust the maiden shifted her position and fell on Nora with her elbow aimed right at her stomach. The blow was strong and Nora let out a cough of blood as the impact wrecked her body. Her grip slacked and the thing that was inside Pyrrha stood up smirking down at the thunder-child.
"It's unfortunate that you had to interfere, that you had to be one of the few things holding me back from ascendency." The maiden crooned, she was speaking as if she was a teacher reprimanding a particularly foolish student. The head twitched and the golden brown eye glowed brightly, when she spoke next her voice was like a corpse. "You want to 'cure' me, you want to kill me, you all just want to KILL ME!"
The hairs on Pyrrha's head began to float up off the ground and the storm above them began to brew further and further, the maiden's finger's dug into her head and she shook it back and forth, gouts of flame jutting out of her eyes.
"Kill me KILL ME! EVERYONE WANTS TO KILL ME!" The corpse's voice scream.
"No we don't," Jaune said calmly as if calming a beast on a farm, the old farmer skills finding a use after all. He placed himself between Nora and the Maiden with his hands raised as if to make himself a barrier between Pyrrha and everyone else "We don't want to kill me."
The storm died down and Pyrrha's arms fell down by her side, she looked at him and her face was sad.
"Please kill me" she whispered. The wind burst from her in a gale, Ren rolled along the concrete, unable to stop his momentum due to his unconscious status. Nora for her part flipped end over end until her fingers were able to latch onto a sewer grate. Jaune stumbled back fighting against the gale as best he could but eventually he too was flung back. Pyrrha began to rise from the ground twitching and gripping her hair as if the flying wasn't her doing but the work of some evil thing seeking only to torment her.
Nora's hand shot out and she managed to catch, the stumbling, tumbling Jaune and hold on to him.
"JAUNE!" She shouted over the storm. "HIT ME WITH IT!"
Jaune looked hesitant for a second before he nodded and the hand he gripped Nora's with began to glow a golden color as his aura shimmered at the surface. Nora felt Aura come back to her and slowly drew herself to her feet, leaning full into the gale storm. Fire and energy crackled around Pyrrha as she hung in the air in an almost fetal position.
"HEY!" Nora screamed, and their heterochromatic eyes opened to gaze at her. Nora spread herself open wide, being sure not to let go of Jaune. "NOONE GETS TO MESS WITH MY MAN, Pyrrha, not without going through me first!"
One half of the face looked bemused, while the other half was terrified and confused. Pyrrha raised a hand and flames started to grow around her fingertips. The fire sho right at Nora but as it crossed the distance, the energy of the fire coalesced into a blue-white bolt of pure lightning. Surprise showed on all of Pyrrha's face as the bolt struck Nora square in her chest. Jaune tore his hand away in shock but he'd done what Nora needed him to do. The lightning coursed through her veins and suddenly her wounds were healing, her exhaustion left her and she was suddenly aware of everything around her.
That was Jaune's semblance at work, he could kick any one person's semblance into overdrive and for Nora that gave her a different kind of power. Normally electricity only gave her a boost to strength, but with Jaune's kick her healing, perception, and speed were also amplified. Yang had a modicum of Aura left and was running on over-drive. Nora wasn't even sure how long it would last.
Ripping the piece of Magnhilde from her thigh, Nora shot off in a dead sprint, she couldn't have any metal on her person, not while fighting Pyrrha. The maiden was stone-faced as Nora devoured the distance. She wasn't as fast as Ruby was but she was close, the buildings around her were a blur, a flurry of Ozpin-green blade was suddenly thrown her way, she ducked dived and diverted herself out of their path as the storm of blades tried to stop the true storm here.
Now Ren was a precise fighter, focused on weak points and structural weaknesses, Nora was a brawler, breaking down opponents by sheer force. So when she jumped over Pyrrha's last magnetic slash of 3 blades, she wasn't coming in with some planned out assault. Nope, Nora was coming in with a hell of a haymaker. Pyrrha started to dodge back out of the way but surprisingly didn't move far enough out of the way, so Nora's punch managed to connect with the chin and spin the maiden so her back was to the thunder child.
Wasting no time Nora Rushed in Grabbed Pyrrha from behind and let out a roar of effort as her back arched and she slammed her former bestie into the concrete with thunderous suplex using all her powered strength and fury behind the strike. Concrete dust flew into the air at the force of the strike and as Nora took a step back she felt all the aches and pains of her body return to her, she still had a little lightning left but she couldn't divert it to nullifying the pain. Looking down she saw that she'd, in fact, buried Pyrrha halfway into the ground where the fall maiden's left stuck out like carrot leaves.
"Had… hah… had enough Pyrrha?" Nora shouted out of breath when the sound of moving rubble hit her ears. The stones and rubble Pyrrha was buried in began to shift and move. Nora knew what was coming and prepared herself, it hurt to lift her arms but she had too.
Ok new plan, Grab Pyrrha, smash her till her mind works properly. Nora thought wildly optimistic. When Pyrrha's head emerged from the rubble Nora knitted her fingers together and wrapped them around the back of Pyrrha's head. Letting out a roar she slammed her knee and pulled down at once. Her knee connected with Pyrrha's face, she pulled back and launched her knee out again, Pyrrha's aura was monstrous and as Nora pulled on her the maiden barely budged.
The Fall maiden gave Nora a bloody grin as Nora's knee pulled back again. The knee shot out but this Time Pyrrha caught it, her fingers digging into Nora's knee, it was then that she stood fully uplifting Nora with her and slamming her onto her back. Pyrrha straddled Nora and launched a straight punch at her face, Nora brought her arms up to take the hit and felt the bones in her forearm fracture. Slapping the arms away Pyrrha reeled back her head and smashed her tiara'd forehead down on Nora's nose. Nora's headshot backward and down onto the concrete. A concussion threatening to pull her into unconsciousness. Pulling her fist back she punched at Pyrrha's chin, the maiden simply caught the arm and with a savage twist of her wrist snapped Nora's forearm back.
Nora screamed while Pyrrha smiled and Wept. Raising her arm one of her mirage swords returned to her hand. She lifted it up to stab down when the echo of thunder hit Nora's ear, Pyrrha's head was jerked to the side by some unseen force and her aura flared. More thunder rolled in and with each rumble, the Maiden stumbled and moved as her aura soaked up the assault. Nora barely had time to consider what was going on when Ren scooped her up and began running towards one of the nearby buildings.
"…ren…" Nora muttered. "Let me go I can take her…"
It was complete bravado, Nora was so out of it she wasn't sure she and Ren would be able to make it out of Mountain Glenn alive. Jaune was standing his ground Crocea Mors held firm in his hand. The thunder rumbled once more and Pyrrha raised her hand and Nora was able to catch a glimpse of it, a bullet hovering in the air, a huge bullet, no doubt built for a huge gun.
Ruby's here. Nora thought as she fell unconscious in Ren's arms. …good…
Yang
Neon's here. Great! Yang thought bitterly, as she continued to play the part she was meant to, throwing out a loud growling snarl as she purposefully missed the cat Faunus with a right hook that crumbled a pillar. The little remaining ceiling fell right on her head and she grunted in protest as it bounced off her aura.
"Ohhh still need to work on that accuracy. Also might stand to lose a few pounds." Neon leered back zipping through the ruins.
"Least I'm not as flat as an Ironing board" Yang spat back. That did bring her a modicum of joy, she spotted Blake's glimmering eyes in the darkness, but held a hand out to her.
Can't get her involved yet…don't want to force that choice. Yang thought before cocking back Ember Celica and launching a flurry of base shots at Neon. Don't want to waste my special dust rounds just yet.
Yang's mind drifted for a second to the Grimm agitator she'd taken off the bounty hunter, that too was a weapon she didn't want to waste. Neon ducked and dived away from Yang's blasts always keeping just out of Yang's reach.
"Ohh I just love the look" Neon crooned. "It's very Grimm worshipper-chic."
"I like yours too, its very punk fascist" Yang grinned back, loading another round into Ember Celica, before focusing her aura to her legs preparing for a mighty leap to close the distance with Neon quickly.
"Oh you're feisty now, I love it." Neon purred back, and Yang had to admit, at least she wasn't as crazy as Neo. "Say Yang after we catch you, why don't we look into… conjugal visits?"
Yang threw her head back and gave an honest laugh at that, then she jumped. Neon was surprised but her training kicked in, her nunchucks lashing out glowing light blue: ice dust no doubt. As the weapons swung at her face that was when Yang fired Ember Celica, launching herself over and to the side of Neon. As she moved through the air she slashed Neon in the side with her dust blade. When her foot hit the ground she bounced off it and landed a left hook into Neon's bicep, Neon swung again and Yang ducked underneath and fired out a jab-cross to her upper thigh. Neon swung both down at Yang the nunchaku coming down in a crossed pattern. Yang slashed both with her dust blade and focused her aura through it. The Gravity dust's power hit the weapons and they began to move as if through honey.
Yang grinned a maniacal smile when Neon backed off a long rainbow streak trailing behind her. Yang started laughing loud and hard. She held her stomach as she giggled at Neon.
"Sorry Neon, I like yah but you're not my type not at all." Yang took in a whooping breath before resting her hand on her hip and twirling the sword by her side. "You need to work on your taunts B.T.W, to be honest, they're getting kind of piss-weak."
That put a pouting face on the cat Faunus, who cracked her nun-chucks again and their color shifted to a dark orange.
Earth then. Yang mused still twirling the sword in her fingers.
"Listen Neon, I know we started off on a bad foot, but why don't we… talk this out." That got a surprised look from the Atlessian, who nervously twirled her weapons between her hands.
"Sure thing Yang!" Neon answered chipperly. "Though I must start out by telling you that I can't ignore the beating you gave to my poor leader Flynt Coal, he talked with a hilarious rasp days after you hit him."
Yang just gave a shrug, she didn't regret doing what she'd done to Flynt, dust she'd do it again. "What can I say, had to hit him there, man's too dangerous with those pipes active."
"Don't I know it" Neon replied back a sly cat-like grin on her face.
Oh, so we're both stalling neat. Yang thought bemused.
"I still didn't do it, I didn't attack Mercury" Yang intoned.
"Ohhhhhhkkkkaaaayyy, then what about all the other stuff, all the murders, and things?" Neon asked. Yang's eyebrow twitched, she remembered what Winter had accused her of back in her holding cell.
I still need answers to that. Yang mused, certain that she hadn't committed those murders, she was sane… well, she was sane enough to not have forgotten psychotic episodes.
"Frame job," She said to Neon and herself. "I'm not that sloppy."
"Oh, so you have killed someone huh?" Neon teased, stalling for time.
"yes" Yang answered flatly. "But you guys didn't have a hint that I did, till I told you."
Yang stood there her arms hanging by her side completely relaxed.
"How smart is Atlas really?" Yang asked letting out a vicious grin. "Can't catch one girl, can't see Cinder even when she's right under your nose, and your so obsessed with being in charge of 'The Savior of Vale' you haven't noticed that she's completely off her rocker!"
Yang gestured outside to the sound of gunshots. "You guys have to be told that the Fang is on your doorstep, couldn't figure that one out yourselves." Yang spat to show what she thought of Atlessian competence. "The best thing you made was a robot girl who half the time bucks at her own programming" Yang took a step forward. "So tell me Neon, what makes you icicles think you can protect the rest of us?"
"What can I say, everyone else just sucks worse than us" Neon smirked in that strange smile she somehow managed to pull off. "World's crazy, nowadays."
"And when the younger siblings are acting crazy," Came a voice from behind Yang and she turned to see a tall fair-haired man step through a hole in that building's wall followed by a lanky tall woman with bright blue eyes and dark raven hair. "Big brother needs to step in."
"Oh, Neon you didn't mention that you were waiting for company," Yang said giving the intruders a graceful bow. "I would've cleaned things up."
The woman touched her ear. "Ve have ze Target"
And more incoming great. Yang thought, hiding her smirk behind her mask. Yang gestured around her, her eyes analyzing all that she could about the newcomers.
"Am I that big a problem that Atlas needs to send 4 specialists after me?" Yang asked her senses stretching out to sense the feelings coming off those in the room. Fear mostly, a little hate and excitement.
"6 actually," said the fair-haired man, who had the most approachable face Yang had ever seen. He pulled out his scroll and a strange badge flashed on it. Yang recognized it from Raven and Torchwick's lessons. "Ebi Clover, Tyr-Squad leader, Tyr squad: fire-catcher."
"Ole Jimmy made a whole task-force just for me then?" Yang stood still her arms by her sides, she cracked her neck as she took it all in. "Doesn't he have bigger problems?"
"Zhat izz not our concern," the woman said wielding an enormous glowing orange sword which she held with relative ease.
Yang cocked Ember Celica when dust fell from the ceiling and a hole crashed open and a broken bedsheet fell between her and the Tyr squad. She stared at it for a second when the grey sheet started to rise and she saw that it was a person underneath. At first, she thought it was a stranger but then she began to recognize them.
"Wait," She said, while Tyr squad all brandished their weapons. "I know you"
Author's note
Stay safe in this dark times. I'm glad we've made it to 50 chapters of Rogue AU and almost to our 2 year anniversary. I have a few ideas on what to do in celebrations, including one in particular that is a bit devious. If you have any suggestions for celebration I'm all ears and would be grateful. Spread this fic as you see fit and thank you all for sticking with me this long.
