The metal structure of the container groaned in protest as it met the ground. The massive parachutes above it had slowed the descent to a less than deadly speed for the occupants inside. During the development of the troop deployment system, a shock-absorbing suspension system on the underside of the container had been proposed, and even designed, before being discarded due to development costs.
Blake Belladonna's body shook as the impact passed through her. She shook off the moment's disorientation, then pulled the release on the straps holding her in the chair. Weiss Schnee was still in a daze, her hand held over her mouth. Blake stood and removed the black Vector .45 from the mount above her chair. She grabbed the spare magazines and slid them into the loops on her belt. She double-checked her USP sidearm, then put a hand to the combat knife in the sheath strapped to her chest.
"You gonna yuke?" She asked.
Weiss took a deep breath.
"No, I'm fine," Weiss said, "I'll be fine."
"Then load up."
Weiss pulled the release. She stood up. She took her Colt Python and attached the holster to her belt. She lifted the white Steyr Aug from the mount, swung the bullpup's heavy stock end around to her left shoulder, and checked the chamber. Blake caught the hope for approval in the glance Weiss gave her. She gave her a curt nod, if for no other reason than to raise the girl's morale. Weiss looked forward towards the door to the container.
"Two targets," Blake said, "Both Post Human. Subdue non-lethally, if possible."
"Right."
"And don't die."
"Right."
Explosive bolts detonated in unison, blowing the opposite end of the container clear off. Weiss jumped in fright. Blake was advancing towards the tree line before the metal hit the ground. Weiss spun around, shouldered her weapon, and followed.
The upturned wreck of the car was lit up by bright red dots that scanned across the vehicle erratically. From the bushes, Ironwood raised his left hand, keeping the right on the grip of his LMG. He waved the team forward, and they advanced out the bushes, keeping their laser sights on the wreck. They aimed into the car from every possible angle, clearing every nook and cranny. Ironwood was already marching forward before they called out that the vehicle was clear. He strode past the car, glancing at the warped metal around the driver's side door.
"They're moving further into the valley," He said, "Fan out, and force them forward if you spot them. The Abberants are going to be killing each other today. You two, with me."
The two soldiers he'd pointed at fell in behind him. The rest spread out and advanced.
Ruby and Yang had made it a short distance ahead. Yang was keeping as fast a pace as she could, knowing Ruby's escape was only hindered by her own. If it came to them being surrounded, Yang could only hope Ruby would listen when she told her to use her Ability to run.
Go right into whatever ambush they're pushing us towards, Yang thought, brilliant plan. Must have been tracking us since the house. Just go busting through walls. You impulsive idiot.
Ruby vanished from sight. Yang looked about, her breath quickening involuntarily. She spotted Ruby ahead, seated on a rotted stump. She smiled at her, hoping to keep her own spirits up as much as her sister's.
"They're past the car, but we're still gaining distance," Ruby said, "They're not in a hurry. The big guy is there. You didn't kill him."
Yang stopped in her tracks. She glanced back into the trees. She looked at Ruby again with a raised eyebrow.
"The man from the police station?" Yang asked, "The one I punched through the wall?"
"You punched him part way through the wall. And he lived."
Yang put a hand to her knuckles. Even if he'd been wearing armour...
"Fine," She said, "Keep moving. We should try to sneak past whatever came down in that container. Hopefully they don't have a full perimeter, or we're going to have to pick a way out of here and go through them."
Ruby vanished from her seat, and was suddenly standing next to it.
"We keep going this way, we'll be in view of a ridge to the left up ahead. There's somebody up there with a rifle, I think."
"Great," Yang said, "Let's bank right a bit."
Blake marched forward, pushing through the underbrush with ease. She emerged into an area clear enough to be called a path, and started down it. She held her Vector loosely, under one arm; it dangled from a looped shoulder strap. Weiss shoved through the trees, crouching and scanning behind them with her rifle.
"Intruder!" She called over her shoulder.
"Yeah."
"Orders were to stay near the drop zone."
"I'm looking for good positioning, Princess," Blake called back, "They picked the drop zone to give their drones the best camera angle."
Weiss glanced back in the direction of the shipping container, then took off to keep up with Blake. She kept her rifle tight to her shoulder, occasionally scanning the trees.
"You do that the whole time, you'll be tired out by the time we make contact," Blake said, "Relax. I'll know they're coming before you do, remember?"
Weiss lowered her rifle, her lips curled in indignation.
"Intruder, this is Eye in the Sky," Blake's radio called out, "Come in, Intruder."
Blake clicked the button on the radio on her lapel, not bothering to raise it to her mouth.
"Intruder here."
"You are currently on intercept course with hostiles."
"I believe that was the plan," Blake said, rolling her eyes at Weiss.
"Confirmed," The radio said, "Be aware, at present rate you'll reach them in an area of dense foliage. Observation will be spotty. Advise you hold current position."
"Understood, thank you, Eye in the Sky." Blake said.
She released the button and gave Weiss a shit-eating grin.
"He meant they wouldn't be able to provide us aerial support." Weiss said.
"I'm sure he did," Blake said, "Quiet down, and keep moving. We're being followed."
"What?"
"I said 'quiet down'."
A group of three soldiers crept forward through the trees. They had advanced nearly half a kilometer past their own reported position. The second lieutenant was in the lead, with a couple first lieutenants behind him.
"I don't know about this," Lt. Polanski whispered.
"Shut the fuck up, Polanski, that's an order." Lt. Evans said, "The thicket is close. The drone won't see it."
"Did you hear him?" Lt. Crane asked, "'the future of our jobs'. I didn't take this job to work with fucking muties. Did you?"
"Do really think we can take both of them out, though?" Polanski asked, "Without them making any noise?"
"They're two teenage girls, Polanski," Lt. Evans said, "Now for the final time, shut the fuck up."
They made their way up a short hill that dropped off on the other side. From over the edge, female voices could be heard. The three soldiers all slowed down, and crept forward as quietly as they could. Evans placed himself against the back of a tree, and slid his AR around the trunk. He scanned the trees below with the canted iron sight, looking around the assault scope. He caught a glimpse of movement. He zeroed in and saw the two of them, Intruder and Princess. They were marching blindly forward, with no sense of tactics whatsoever.
"I'm going to take out Intruder," Evans said, "Then you both open up on Princess."
"Yes sir," Crane said, crawling up beside him.
Polanski thought for a moment, then moved his hand down the barrel of his rifle, to the underslung grenade launcher. He crawled into position next to Crane. Evans held his sights on the girl in black. They had just passed, and now were facing away from the three of them. She said something to the one beside her, and stopped walking. Evans took that as his window and tilted the rifle, peering through the scope. By the time he could see her clearly through the scope, she had half-turned towards him, her sidearm aimed blindly. He was aiming straight into the pistol's barrel. The assault scope shattered, the 9mm bullet continuing straight into Evans' eye.
Blind fire exploded from the ridge she had shot at. Blake continued her 180-degree spin and placed a second hand to her pistol. She marched forwards towards the ridge, not pumping the trigger as fast as she could, but taking precise, purposeful shots, though she had no view of what she fired at. Bullets peppered the ground around her; twice she made a small step to avoid a few bullets in the barrage that would have gotten lucky. She fired two shots in rapid succession, correcting her aim by millimeters in between. The first punched through the edge of one of the tree trunks. The second went through the head of the soldier who stumbled out, a hand clapped over his neck.
Blake holstered her pistol and spun around, putting her back to a thick tree with a perfectly smooth motion. She caught sight of Weiss, still scrambling for cover. There was a sound unlike the other weapons fire- a heavy thump. An explosion blasted the tree behind her apart, just failing to penetrate all the way through Blake's cover. Blake swung around, took the Vector up in one hand, and fired a three-round burst at the top of the ridge, which she'd now gotten significantly closer too. There was a cry of pain, and a third soldier tumbled forward over the ridge, bullet holes through his legs. He landed on the rocks that lay about 4 meters down at the bottom.
Weiss had reached a rock to use as cover and aimed her rifle at the ridge. Blake glanced back at her, then walked over to the fallen soldier. He squirmed in terror at the sight of her, tightening his grip on the rifle. Blake quickly drew her pistol and put another bullet in his shoulder from the hip. The soldier cried in pain and the rifle fell at his side. Weiss sprinted forward to Blake's side.
"Blake, what the fuck are you doing?" Weiss shouted, "They're supposed to be on our side!"
"They were about to kill us, I saw it," Blake said.
"Fuck!" Shouted Weiss.
Blake crouched down and placed the muzzle of her pistol to the soldier's crotch. He whimpered in fright, blood on his teeth.
"How many of your merc buddies are going to shoot us on sight?" Blake asked.
The soldier spat blood, hoping to hit her but only getting the sticky red wad to splatter across his face. Blake snapped her aim down a millieter, putting a bullet into the stone just beneath the man's crotch. She returned the heated tip to his package.
"Listen, bud, uh, Polanski," She said, reading the tag on his jacket, "Now, I don't trust anything you're about to say for shit, but humour me. See, where I'm sitting, either you boys came to work with a murder boner and a bad plan, or you all have orders to kill us after we neutralized the hostiles, and you got excited and blew your load early. Column A or B?"
"Just us. Us three," He said, "Swear to God. It was Evans' idea."
"So, all your jackboot merc friends aren't going to be shooting at us too?" Blake asked, "You sure you didn't just jump the gun by being morons?"
"No," The soldier grunted, "You don't have to... kill me."
Blake squinted. She looked at Weiss. Weiss was staring at what Blake was doing in horror.
"Why do you want us dead?" Blake asked, over her shoulder.
"They think they can make you like us," The soldier groaned, "Fuck you, prair-"
Blake shot him through the head. She clicked the button down on her radio.
"Eye in the Sky, are we still on course?"
"You're in an area with poor visibility," Eye in the Sky reported back, "recommend moving to more open terrain."
"Understood."
Blake turned and walked past Weiss. Weiss looked at the dead soldier in disgust, then hurried to catch up with Blake.
"Are we seriously going to pretend that didn't just happen?" Weiss demanded.
"By the time anyone finds them, they'll know they weren't at their reported position," Blake said, "Might catch shit for it if it leads back to us, but if we're lucky, Xiao Long and Rose are already picking them off too, and they'll take credit for those three."
"Blake-"
"Codenames."
"Fuck the codenames for a second, listen," Weiss said.
She reached out to grab Blake by the shoulder. Without looking, Blake swerved and side-stepped, evading the grab but turning to face Weiss. Weiss recoiled her hand in surprise, while Blake waited for her to speak.
"They were supposed to be on our side!" Weiss said, "How in the Hell are you so calm about this?!"
"I'm First Nations, Weiss," Blake said, "The government is trying to kill me all the time. Probably should have warned you, that applies to being Post Human, too.
"So now we're being sent to fight other Aberrants-"
"Don't call me that."
"Other post humans," Weiss corrected herself, "And we can't trust our own allies."
"They're not your allies, Princess," Blake said, "And you aren't theirs. You're their attack dog. I hoped we could run a few ops like this, let them think they can loosen their hold on the leash."
"So, you're changing plans?" Weiss asked.
"All the time," Blake said, "If you see an opening that gets us out of this valley, say something."
Blake turned and continued forward. Weiss followed suit, checking the chamber of her rifle to calm her nerves.
Ironwood reached the top of a small hillside, trees dotted in various places down the slope. Crouching near a thick pine, he raised a small pair of binoculars to his eyes. He scanned the trees, hoping to spot a glimpse of that hoodie. He didn't share Ozpin's optimism in this foolish plan to pit Aberrants against each other, and he fully intended to neutralize the two fugitives the old-fashioned way, if it came to it. The two soldiers accompanying him took their own cover positions, scanning the woods below with their rifles.
"Got visual, North-Northeast," One of the soldiers said, "Visual on Xiao Long."
"Alright," Ironwood said, "Wait for a shot on Rose. It's easier if-"
Ironwood's head snapped backwards, the impact shaking brain about in his skull. His body was thrown backwards against the hillside. The sound of the approaching bullet reached them, and then the sound of the gunshot, from a ridge to the west.
"Fuck!" One of the soldiers shouted.
The soldier who'd spotted Xiao Long swung his rifle up in the direction the shot had come from. He took a bullet through the neck. His body slammed against the tree trunk beside him, and the narrow strip of flesh still holding his head to his chest gave way.
Ironwood grunted in frustration and sat up. He put a hand to his forehead and brushed the deformed .50 caliber round away from a slight indentation in his skull. The bone underneath was already pushing itself back out.
"Eye in the Sky!" The soldier shouted into his radio, "Sniper on west side! Ironwood is-"
Out of the corner of his eye, the soldier caught sight of Ironwood rising to his feet.
"Oh... oh my god."
Ironwood had dropped his LMG. He drew his .44 revolver and shot the soldier through the head. He felt another bullet strike him in the sternum, and was knocked on his ass again. He felt his ribs crack, and the wind was knocked from his lungs. He rolled and put himself on the side of the tree that blocked the sniper's angle.
"Eye in the Sky," Ironwood called into his radio, "Hellfire that goddam ridge. All units, my escorts have been taken out. Backup on my position."
The massive brass cylinder flew out of the rifle, hitting the dirt with a heavy thud. The bolt was shoved forward again, loading another massive cartiridge into the chamber. Glynda Goodwitch scoped in, searching for another angle on her target. She couldn't see him around the tree.
"Fuck." She whispered.
She pushed herself off the ground, her usual uniform replaced with hunter's camo. She was already moving from her position as she broke apart the rifle. Once she'd made it a hundred meters or so, she laid out the rifle's carrying case and began placing the dismantled weapon inside. She pocketed the soda bottle wrapped in blankets and duct tape that had been secured over the end of the barrel. An explosion sent a blast of heated air in her direction from where she'd been positioned. She clicked the gun case shut, and moved for the car she'd stashed down a back road half a click away.
Yang slipped in between the trees, ducking and weaving through the underbrush, hoping she was making herself difficult to track. She wanted to cut loose, to start sprinting. She could smash every tree in her path to pieces, keep adding momentum and giving none of it back. Her father had told her once that someday they would go out somewhere, miles from civilization, with a speed gun, and see just how fast she could go. They'd never gotten the chance, before...
Ruby appeared beside her, tucking herself under a low hanging branch. Yang came to a stop, darting her eyes about.
"Hey, deep breaths," Ruby said, "Remember?"
"I'm alright," Yang said, "Really hoping to get out of these woods soon."
"You heard the gunfire earlier?" Ruby said.
"Sounded like it came from towards that container they dropped," Yang said, "Those shots afterwards, I'm not sure. It was something heavier, but I think it was behind us."
"So everybody's shooting, but not at us," Ruby said, "I was pretty sure they wanted us dead, but if they did, they would have just hit our car with a missile or something."
Yang's pulse spiked. Ruby was right. They could have both been dead, and Yang would have failed the one thing her mother had trusted her with. She couldn't consciously control the quickening of her breaths.
"I don't know, this is all kinda weird," Ruby said, "I'm gonna scout a bit more."
She vanished from the spot, and reappeared next to Yang, her arm wrapped around Yang's shoulders. Yang turned to face her sister in surprise, and was met with a reassuring smile.
"If they'd shot a missile at us, we would have been fine, by the way," Ruby said, "I would have done something clever. Maybe push the missile off course with my time powers, or whatever."
Ruby vanished again, reappearing in front of Yang. She was standing at first, but crouched down, with an excited grin.
"Yang, you're not going to believe this!" She whispered, "There are two girls coming this way. They look about your age. They actually look pretty badass."
"What?!" Yang said, "That doesn't make any..."
Ruby was peering over a small boulder, looking to the north. She looked back at Yang, curious if she would continue.
"Post Humans," Yang said, "The container, driving us off the road, pushing us towards each other... Mom warned us that if we were ever caught, the best we could hope for was being turned into weapons."
"Why would two Post Humans want to help the police hunt us down?" Ruby asked.
"I don't..." Yang thought, "Ruby, I'm gonna sprint to get past them. Follow along with your Ability. If we run into them, disarm them, but I'm going to book it right past. Our best bet is that we're both faster than them."
"Alright."
Blake came to a stop. The branches overhead were thick. There were only occasionally spots amidst the trees where sunlight cut through the ceiling of leaves. The leaves were just beginning to change colour, and occasionally, one would drift to the ground of its own accord. The ground in this natural canopy was just as much puddle as mud. Blake took hold of her Vector, swiping a flashbang grenade from her belt and grasping it and the foregrip of her gun in one hand.
"What is it?" Weiss asked.
"Freeze the ground," Blake said, using her thumb to pop the pin off the flashbang, "Freeze the ground now!"
Weiss pulled her hand away from the grip of the rifle, swinging its weight to her right side by the foregrip. She slammed her palm down into the mud. Water seethed out of the earth, its volume increasing as it froze solid. The edges of the expanding, freezing surface rapidly heated, smaller puddles blasting into steam and piles of leaves and twigs bursting into flame. A patch of ice 10 meters across had formed in front of them, and the shunted heat at its edges bellowed out a wall of flame, two meters high.
As the ice was expanding, Weiss heard what Blake had sensed. A cacophonous racket of splintering wood and collapsing trees. She saw the trees to their ten o'clock shaking and flailing as if something powerful were smashing them out of its way. As the flames around the ice formation ignited leaves out of the air and sent a burst of steam in all directions, Yang Xiao Long exploded out of the tree line, bringing a wave of splinters, dirt, and debris with her.
Ruby strolled down the path that Yang had created, hands in the pocket on the front of her hoodie. She occasionally had to avoid clouds of wooden splinters, shimmering silver in the air. Most of the trees she passed would fall over in a few milliseconds. She could see that Yang was sprinting into a more open area, like a clearing, though it was still shrouded by foliage. There was something strange happening in the clearing. Ruby picked up her stride a bit.
She emerged to see a two-meter-high wall of fire in the center of the small area. Yang was sprinting directly towards it. Ruby gasped and rushed to her sister's side. There was still a short distance before Yang would reach the flames. Ruby had time to think of something to do. She examined the fire, the flames slowly crawling upwards through the air. The bright orange flames mixed with the silver to produce a gorgeous glimmer of refracting light. Of all the things Ruby had seen using her Ability, she had always found fire the most beautiful.
The fire was dissipating; it wasn't a blaze, but a short-lived burst of flame. Ruby extended a cautious hand, ready to pull back in a moment. She placed her hand between the flames. She could feel the heat fading away. She glanced through the flames and noticed the ground. The fire formed a circle around a patch of perfectly slick ice.
"The heck?" Ruby asked.
She walked around the edge of the strange sight. The two young women she'd seen earlier were at the opposite edge. The wave of fire wasn't present on this side. The one in white was crouched, her hand placed on the surface of the ice. The one in black was ducking forward, clutching her ears. Ruby walked over and looked closely at the girl in white's hand. There was a strange distortion in the air, just noticeable around the outline of her fingers. Ruby looked from the girl's hand, to the ice, to the wave of flames.
"You make ice, but..." Ruby thought aloud, "The ice makes heat? I hope you'll explain it to me after Yang and I kick your ass."
The girl was holding her rifle by its foregrip. Ruby leaned in and examined the weapon.
"Okay, this one just looks weird," Ruby noted, "What's the clip, or mag, or whatever doing back there? Wouldn't that-? Whatever."
She looked the strange gun up and down, searching for any kind of lever or switch. She pushed on a latch, hearing what sounded like mechanical parts inside starting to move. She pushed on the safety button, then yanked on the gun for a few seconds for good measure.
Something caught her eye. Another anomaly had begun to appear behind the two girls, its effects inching forward at a crawl, but nonetheless far faster than anything but Ruby should be. It was like a growing bubble, an expanding sphere that warped the light passing through it just enough to be visible. Ruby walked forward in curiousity. At the sphere's rough center was a small black object, like a thin soda can or something. As the bubble continued expanding outward meter by meter, the object was illuminated from within by intense light pouring out of rows of holes along its sides.
"Oh, it's like a grenade or something," Ruby said, "Oh, this is a percussive sound wave. Gotcha. Wait-"
The flashbang blew apart, rapidly deforming even within the silver, and unleashed a light brighter than Ruby had ever seen.
Yang burst out of the trees to see a wall of flame rising up into her path. She shouted in surprise, but it was too late to slow herself down. She threw her arms up in front of her face as she met the fire. She shot through the thin barrier, too fast for the flames to catch her. As she broke through, she laid eyes on the two women Ruby had described, directly in her path. She gasped in disbelief; apparently there was no limit to how bad their luck could get.
A brilliant flash of light exploded from behind them, silhouetting the two. There was the sound of an explosion, so loud Yang felt it hitting her in the gut. The girl in white's rifle flew from her hands, and she clutched after it in a panic. Yang turned her face away, pulling her arms up higher, trying to shield her eyes. She thought she saw a glimpse of familiar red behind them as she squeezed her eyes shut. Her foot slammed down, and promptly slipped out from under her. The other foot made a desperate, reflexive effort to steady her, but her weight had been thrown far out in front of her legs. She clasped hold of either side of her head, and she felt her side slam into the ice.
The blonde tumbled along the icy surface towards Weiss and Blake. Weiss shouted in surprise and dove out of the way. Blake didn't jump so much as pounce forward, her body sailing gracefully over the tumbling shape of her target. She tucked herself in tight, rolled into her landing, and came up into a crouch. She glanced behind her. The blonde was skidding along the dirt. The girl in the hoodie was on her back a few meters away, clutching her eyes in pain.
Yang came to a stop, and was immediately pushing herself off the ground. Her hair was wild, a few loose strands singed, with leaves, twigs and flecks of dirt caught between the locks. Her eyes were burning; her teeth gritted in fury. She looked to Ruby, still writhing on the ground. Then her gaze snapped to the girl in black, rising to her feet, aiming her weapon one-handed. Her gear was bizarrely light and form-fitting. Her skin was a soft shade of brown. Her long black hair cloaked her face, her bangs obscuring, but not covering, her eyes.
"I'll fucking kill you!" Yang roared.
"Stand down," Blake demanded, levelling the SMG at Yang, "I don't want to kill you, but I'll gladly put a bullet in your knee."
Ruby cried out in pain. Yang couldn't hold her gaze on the girl in black.
"Ruby!" She shouted.
"She'll be fine," Blake said, "Princess, cuff her."
Weiss was on her knees next to Blake, shaking off the effects of the flashbang. She looked up at Blake.
"What?"
"The kid," Blake said, "Cuff her."
Weiss stumbled over to where Ruby lay. She opened a pouch on her belt and produced a set of zip ties. She reached down for Ruby's wrist. Ruby vanished before her, reappearing a few meters to her left. Weiss jumped slightly, but hurried to get hold of her. Ruby tried to pull herself off the ground, and stumbled. Weiss lunged for her, but Ruby again blinked a short distance away, this time seated, her head drifting about. Yang and Blake both stared at this display, occasionally exchanging an uncomfortable glance.
"Look the other way," Yang said, "Tell them we got away from you."
"Not an option," Blake said, "Sorry."
"Then you're killing us."
Yang saw the slight waver in the girl's calm exterior. Her eyes showed a hint of remorse, and the tip of her gun shook, just a bit. The magazine dropped out of the Vector, seemingly of its own accord, and in the same moment the slide snapped back, ejecting the round in the chamber. Weiss shouted in surprise as Ruby appeared on her back, arms locked around her throat. Blake was distracted by Weiss's desperate flailing for a split second, and Yang took it as opportunity.
She sprinted forward, aiming to land a lung-crushing blow to the girl's chest. Yang expected her to grab for another weapon. Instead, she pivoted to the side and crouched, reaching her hands up into the path of Yang's oncoming fist. She took hold of the forearm and yanked downwards at the precise millisecond when it counted. Yang's fist was dragged downwards, all of her momentum redirected towards the ground behind Blake. She slammed into the still frozen ground hard enough to shatter the ice.
Yang wheezed, and gasped for breath. She pulled herself up to her knees, and looked back at Blake.
"How the fuck-?"
"Can't be stopped," Blake said, "You can be redirected, though."
Weiss stumbled backwards, the girl's weight on her back starting to pull her off-balance. Just before she fell, she took hold of Ruby's forearms around her neck. The fabric on Ruby's left sleeve froze against her skin beneath Weiss's hand. The right sleeve hissed and crackled. Ruby cried out in pain and let go. The world went silver again. The flashbang had disoriented her badly; it was difficult to activate her Ability, and harder still to keep it going. Ruby fell back onto the ground, and lay there for a moment, taking a few deep breaths.
She climbed to her feet. The girl in white was drawing in a deep breath. Ruby walked around the front of her, placed a shoulder against the front of her tac vest, and shoved her weight against the girl.
"One, one thousand, two, one thousand," Ruby said, "Three- okay, that should do it."
Ruby dropped to her knees, and time resumed. Weiss was blown backwards off her feet. She hit the ground on her back and bounced, shouting all the way. Ruby turned and stumbled towards Yang. Yang sent a wild haymaker at Blake, the air around her fist glowing yellow. Blake ducked, and without looking, grabbed Yang's leg and lifted it upwards as she stood, flipping Yang off her feet again. This time Yang was prepared for it, and she rolled into the impact, coming back up to her feet.
She sprinted at Blake and let out a barrage of wild swings. Blake backstepped, dodging to the left and right without effort, each of Yang's swings sending a ripple through the grass around them. Blake ducked and weaved, wearing an impatient smirk. Yang crouched, dug her fingers into the earth, and threw up a spray of dirt and mud. Blake shielded herself, and ducked away. The splatterings of dirt hit her open palm rather than her face, but she still grimaced in irritation. Yang followed the attack with a wild tackle. Though Blake had closed her eyes, she gasped in surprise just before getting caught in the grapple. Yang lifted her off the ground and charged forward, towards the nearest tree.
Ruby heard a click behind her. She made a stumbling turn around to see Weiss standing again, sooner than Ruby had expected. Her body was pivoted to the right, her left arm outstretched and holding a .357 revolver. She glared at Ruby over the sights of the massive gun.
"Stand down," Weiss said, "Before I'm forced to-"
Ruby appeared at her side, dropping down into a seat on the ground again.. Weiss felt a phantom force pushing on her trigger finger. The revolver fired, and launched itself out of Weiss's grip. She shrieked in surprise. She stumbled back and looked at Ruby, who was giving her a smug grin.
"You look familiar," Ruby said, "Where have I seen you before?"
Blake drove her elbow repeatedly down onto Yang's shoulder. Her Ability had shown her every possible course of action she could have taken; none would have let her avoid the tackle. She saw herself being slammed against the tree and knocked out, and she didn't have much time to avoid it. She was going for another elbow strike- the only thing she could do that would slow her opponent slightly- when she suddenly saw a way out. She drove her knee upwards, striking Yang around the liver, while simultaneously karate-chopping her lower back. Blake didn't know what pressure point she'd hit to cause the wind to be knocked out of Yang and send her tumbling, but she saw that it would work even before launching the attack.
The two of them rolled onto the ground, and Blake twisted in a way that resulted in Yang laying facedown, with Blake laying over her. Blake threw her into a headlock, and applied all the force she could. She saw Yang reach up and effortlessly snap her arm. She bent the arm in such a way that Yang accidentally pulled it away unharmed, with a loose grip. Blake wrenched the arm free and fluidly brought her elbow down on the back of Yang's neck.
Weiss raised a hand above her and the branches above her crackled. The bark split along the lengths of the branches as the liquid inside flash-froze. Ice-coated leaves were shaken loose, raining down around Weiss. She aimed both her hands forward and launched the gathered thermal energy forward. Ruby cried out in pain before vanishing again. Weiss looked about, the frozen leaves still drifting around her, bouncing off her hair and shoulders.
Yang's struggles to break Blake's hold were getting slower, easier to counter. Blake had almost rotated 180 degrees around Yang. Yang stopped flailing at Blake and abruptly placed her hands to the ground, forcing herself back up into a standing position. Blake was lifted off the ground and would have ended up inverted, had she not seen the movement coming. With the precision of a gymnast, she swung herself about, switching her arms around Yang's head, holding her grip all the way until she landed behind her. She kicked the back of Yang's right knee, and Yang dropped down. There were no more struggles coming; not in the next few seconds.
Blake's eyes widened. In a flash, she saw a hundred different ways to respond to what was about to hit her, and she saw that none of them worked. She released Yang and rose her hands up in desperation. She felt a solid punch strike her in the face, knocking her backwards. She saw the kick to her lower back coming, and tried to dive forward to ease the blow. The kick hurt, rather than crack her pelvis, but she took a knee to the gut for trying to evade it. Blake hit the ground and rolled to the side. Her shoulder struck something that felt like a brick wall and she stopped, crying in pain.
Ruby crouched down over her, one foot placed on her chest. She was holding Blake's handgun, training it on her head.
"Leave my sister alone!" Ruby screamed.
"Ruby, no!" Yang shouted.
Ruby's finger was shaking on the trigger. Yang and Weiss stared, both terrified.
"They want us to hurt each other," Ruby said, "If we fight each other, they win."
Blake closed her eyes.
"Either you kill me, or I bring you in, kid," Blake said.
"You're wrong," Ruby said.
Yang looked at her sister, holding a gun on the girl she stood over. She glanced about, not knowing when dozens of soldiers would advance from the bushes all around them, calling a premature end to their little scuffle. Her eyes stopped for a moment, almost involuntarily, on the girl in white. She squinted.
"Are you Weiss Schnee?" She asked.
Weiss seemed taken aback by the question for a moment, then thrust her hand forward. The thermal energy in the gun in Ruby's hand was sent into the cartridge at the very top of the magazine, just beneath the chamber. The back end of the slide became a misshapen mess of warped, frozen metal. Ruby dropped it in surprise. Blake immediately pushed off the ground, flipping effortlessly up onto her feet.
Yang strafed right, ending up behind Weiss. She wrapped her arms around Weiss's midsection and lifted, falling backwards and slamming Weiss into the ground. Blake took a step back from Ruby, but could do nothing to evade the girl's next strike. Ruby vanished from sight, and Blake was blown backwards off her feet. The wind was knocked from her lungs as she hit the ground, and she bounced, twice, before her back slammed into a tree trunk. The force of her head meeting the tree might have crushed her skull, but when she opened her eyes, she saw Ruby staring at her with a smile. Ruby's hand was slipped between Blake's head and the trunk. Blake's eyes started to roll back, and she kept them focused only through force of will. She looked up at Ruby as the world faded out around her.
"Junior Xiong," She whispered.
Blake's eyes closed, and her body went limp. Ruby placed a finger to her neck, moving the tip about uncertainly until she found the girl's jugular. She could feel a pulse. Yang walked over to Ruby. Ruby was staring down at the unconscious girl in concern. Yang crouched down and grabbed the last flashbang grenade from Blake's belt.
"What'd she say?' Yang asked.
"I'm not sure," Ruby said.
"Well, we'll figure it out later, "Yang said, "Let's get out of this valley."
Ruby nodded, then blinked in place. When she returned, she was holding the Steyr Aug in an awkward cradle carry.
"The soldiers are close, but there's a gap in their perimeter, northwest. We can sneak through. I like this gun, I'm keeping it."
"Yeah, no, Rube," Yang said, taking the rifle, "It's bigger than you. Let's go."
Yang tossed the rifle aside, and Ruby let it go with a groan of disappointment. They ran from the clearing, leaving Blake and Weiss unconscious.
Ironwood advanced out of the trees, taking in the sight of the clearing. There were patches of ice in the puddles, fire damage to the grass, and the branches of some trees. Weapons were scattered about, most of them emptied. Intruder was seated at the base of a tree. Princess was crouched in front of her, clutching her by the shoulders. Ironwood raised a hand from his LMG's foregrip and motioned forward. A dozen soldiers rushed past him, weapons raised. They surrounded Intruder and Princess, laser sights trained on them.
"Seriously?" Princess asked, "She's injured, but stable. She needs a medic."
"Did you do any significant damage to the targets?" Ironwood asked.
"We got some hits in," Weiss retorted.
"Hm."
"This is Eye in the Sky to all units," Ironwood's radio called out, "Confirmed: Negative hit on hostile sniper. Drone moving to search."
"Cancel that," Ironwood replied, "I want the drone looking for those two runners."
"Think they killed a few of your guys on the way out, too," Weiss said, motioning in the direction she and Blake had come from, "Heard shooting in that direction."
"Right," Ironwood said, "Everybody, pack up and move out. No trace of our presence. Tranq 'em."
There was a pop of compressed air, and a dart filled with clear fluid struck Blake in the chest. She managed to squirm in protest, then passed back out. Weiss turned to face the soldiers, hands raised.
"Come on, guys, can we not-"
The dart struck her in the neck. The sedative it forced into her felt cold moving through her bloodstream.
"Fuck."