The monolithic, ostentatious, overly pretentious Schnee Tower was visible from nearly everywhere in Vale. Its existence served as a symbol of a strong economy and weak employee rights, but also a reminder of what happened when someone with way too much ego and money got in touch with an architect.

Weiss' father, of course. Weiss was just the unfortunate inheritor of Vale's biggest eyesore.

But Schnee Industries was also Vale's largest employer, which was why the towering building had its own freeway exit followed by a wide avenue leading to blocks upon blocks of parking lots. The expanse of asphalt was so vast that workers stuck with the outer spots must have wasted an hour each day just walking to and from the building.

Thankfully, it wasn't busy today. The parking lots were deserted, actually, minus the obligatory abandoned vehicles, a crashed helicopter, and some crows pecking at a few rotting corpses. The lack of life made for an easy drive to the front of the building, where Yang parked in the spot closest to the lobby.

"Is it just me or does this place get taller every time we're here?" she asked while turning off the engine and sliding the keys onto her necklace.

"Maybe you're getting shorter!"

Rolling her eyes at Ruby's genuine suggestion, Yang jumped out of the truck and stretched her back while scanning for danger. A couple of Zs wandered around, probably searching for their cars even in death, but they didn't pose a threat. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said of the stench in the air.

"I hate that smell…" Yang muttered before briefly covering her nose.

"It's like the world's best zombie oven…" Ruby mused while staring out across the parking lot, where shimmers of heat rose from the asphalt.

"You're right, Ruby." Weiss' gaze swept from zombie to zombie before she smiled and kissed Ruby's cheek. "Schnees only accept the best, after all. And I knew you were the best the moment I met you."

"Ugh. Seriously?" Yang made a face while Ruby giggled and opened their cache of weapons. "How come you turn into an utter sap whenever Ruby says something, but everyone else gets a boatload of snark?"

"Because Ruby's sweet and adorable. You're not," Weiss replied with an annoyed expression that melted the instant Ruby giggled again.

"I disagree." After pressing a shotgun into Yang's hands, Blake gave her a heart-stopping smile. "I think you're pretty adorable. I'm not sure about sweet yet…but I hope to figure that out someday."

The compliment followed by suggestive comment left Yang blushing, but the wink thrown in was the end of Yang as they knew her. Left in her place was a bumbling, stuttering mess of emotions.

"I - uh, t-thank you?"

"At least someone thinks so." Holding Ruby's hand, Weiss shoved the weapon drawer closed and led them towards the front doors. Weiss took the lead because this was 'her' turf, not because she was any type of hero or anything. Come to think of it...

"Anyone else find it suspicious that the clue led us here?" Yang asked while jogging to keep up. "I mean, of all the places, we're at Weiss' building. Seems a little convenient, doesn't it?"

"Do shut up."

"I'm just saying," she continued even more determinedly, grinning at Weiss' eyeroll. "I'm pretty sure we're about to learn that Weiss was behind the outbreak all along."

"I'm not even going to respond to that…"

"Think about it." Turning to Blake, Yang motioned towards the massive building. "Who knows what kind of research went on here. Maybe they developed the zombie virus, then Weiss released it."

"Why would she do that?" As expected, Ruby couldn't help being curious and now looked genuinely interested in the answer. Fortunately, Yang had the perfect answer for her.

"To spend more time with you."

"Awe..." Tickled by the response, Ruby gave Weiss a big, sideways hug. "That's so cute!"

When Ruby kissed Weiss' cheek, Weiss looked at a loss for words. Did she deny Yang's claim, therefore denying that she did something Ruby obviously adored? Or did she admit culpability so that Ruby kept thinking she was cute?

Take credit for releasing a humanity-ending super virus or lose one of the reasons Ruby found her cute. The dilemma…

"Quiet now," was Weiss' response, opting for a subject change as they approached the entrance. The heightened vigilance was appropriate seeing as how any number of undead could be lingering around. Since the outbreak swept across the city so fast, some employees probably ended up trapped inside - one of the cruelest fates imaginable. No one deserved to spend eternity roaming the halls of their workplace, constantly hungry but with no food to be found. That sounded like hell.

Clutching the shotgun closer to her chest, Yang stepped into the lobby with Blake right beside her. Scanning the room was their first course of action, searching for any motion or threats in the area. Zombies weren't exactly known for their ability to hide, so it was usually pretty easy to spot them if they were around.

In this case, the massive entryway was devoid of life...and completely trashed. Tables and chairs had been overturned or broken apart. Paper and garbage were strewn everywhere. The reception desk now featured a long, wide blood smear that hadn't been there the last time Yang was here. And flies buzzed somewhere, suggesting unfortunate souls were left in the building...or no one cleaned out the fridge before all hell broke loose.

Walking further into the once-opulent space, Yang let out a long, low whistle. "Did you redecorate?" she asked while Weiss took slow, measured steps across the used-to-be-polished marble floor.

"What a mess," she eventually muttered, accepting the destruction with nothing more than a shake of her head.

"You can say that again…" Blake whispered.

"Hey look! Another flier!" Racing to a nearby column, Ruby pulled down the piece of paper that had been taped to it. "Oh, they gave us another code. Wonder what it unlocks this time?"

Weiss took the paper from Ruby's hand and frowned as she read it. "They think they're going to pull a fast one on me in my own building?" she huffed, crumbling the page into a ball and tossing it on the floor. "Well, they have another think coming."

"Uh oh," Yang whispered to Blake. "Weiss is mad now."

"We need to get to my office." Ignoring Yang's comment, Weiss strode towards the bank of shiny, silver, and slightly blood-spattered elevators on the left side of the lobby.

"Woah woah woah." Immediately dropping the jokes, Yang waved one hand while trailing her companions to the elevator doors. "If movies taught me anything, it's that you don't use an elevator in an emergency situation. I mean, I don't mind being stuck in there with Blake, but having you along will just kill the mood."

The comment earned a glare as Weiss pressed the button on the wall and stepped into the waiting elevator. When Ruby and Blake ignored Yang's advice and willingly entered the metal death box, Yang sighed and followed.

"This is my personal elevator." After pushing the button for the top floor, Weiss pressed her palm to a hand scanner. "It's on a separate electrical grid buried underneath the building, connected to solar panels in five remote locations."

"That's...excessive."

"So is the amount of time you spend staring at Blake, but you don't hear her complaining."

Yang's jaw dropped at the response, but Blake shrugged and smiled.

"I don't mind."

Yang stared (adding to her 'excessive amount of time') before turning back to Weiss. "Ok, but how do you know someone won't hack into this thing or...something?"

"It's protected by the highest encryption known to mankind. Only two people can crack it."

"How do you know one of them isn't behind these traps?" Yang pressed, hoping to find a flaw in this 'unbeatable' elevator.

"Because one of them lived in Vacuo, and the other is here with us."

Yang narrowed her eyes at the remark, then glanced at Ruby and clenched her jaw.

"Weiss...did you teach Ruby advanced cyber security?"

"It's so cool, Yang!" Ruby immediately said, spilling the beans before Weiss came up with a lie. "There's all these crazy rules and walls you can build, like a big game of keep-away!"

"That's great, Ruby." After giving Ruby a genuine smile for being awesome, Yang frowned at Weiss. "She's not some robot you can just download information to!"

Pointedly avoiding eye contact, Weiss watched the floor indicators light up as the elevator pulled them upward. "You'd be surprised..." she muttered, crossing her arms but still refusing to meet Yang's gaze. "She learns exceptionally fast if the material is presented in the right way."

Yang considered throttling Weiss then and there, but a soft 'ding' put those plans on hold. When the elevator doors slid open, they stepped out and froze.

The zombie standing directly in front of them turned around at the sound of the elevator's arrival. One of its arms hung limply at its side, and part of its jaw was missing, but that didn't stop it from moaning as soon as it saw them.

"Is that...?" Ruby asked while the creature stumbled towards them, reaching out with its only usable arm.

"My assistant, yes." Brow furrowed, Weiss pulled out her pistol and spun a silencer onto the barrel. "It appears I owe her quite a bit of overtime."

Without another word, Weiss aimed and fired. The bullet traveled straight through the zombie's head, sending it to the floor in a heap. With the danger eliminated, she led them towards the glass walls surrounding what used to be her office. While Yang followed, Blake nudged her side and nodded to the other side of the lobby, where several dead zombies lay on the floor.

"Jeez…" Yang muttered, looking at the carnage before following Weiss into the office. "Looks like she was protecting this place."

"Wouldn't surprise me. She was remarkably proud of her job."

"The world falls apart, and she guards your office." Shaking her head, Yang walked over to the large wooden desk on the far side of the room and looked around. "What're we here for? The master building controls or something?"

"No." Weiss picked up a picture frame from the desk, brushed a layer of dust off of the glass, and smiled down at it. "I wanted to get this."

"A picture?" Yang asked in disbelief, earning an icy glare.

"Not just any picture. It's Ruby and me on our first anniversary."

"Awe!" While Weiss removed the photograph from the frame, Ruby looked over her shoulder and smiled. "I remember that day. You rented the entire zoo just for us. We played with the koalas!"

"You brought us up here for a picture," Yang repeated, incredulous that they rode in the death trap for nothing.

"That's so romantic," Blake added. Eyes widening, Yang gave Blake a surprised look.

"Uh, what?"

"Like you said, the world fell apart, so it's even more important to treasure the pieces of humanity we have left." After gesturing at the elevator and pile of dead zombies, Blake nodded to the picture Weiss carefully folded into quarters before slipping into a pocket.

The sentiment seemed dumb and purposeless when Weiss said it, but Blake expressed it much more eloquently. In fact, when put that way, it didn't seem stupid at all.

"Are there any pieces of humanity you'd like to get?" Yang asked. "Because I'll help you find them."

"That's sweet." Blake reached out and rested one palm over Yang's heart, making it beat exceptionally fast. "But I have everything I need right here."

"Hey guys! Check this out!" Ruby called out before Yang asked for clarification, waving them to the other side of the office.

Another desk sat there - this one smaller than Weiss' but still quite large. A grid of four computer monitors was mounted to the wall right above it, while various notebooks and small gadgets littered the desk itself. Opening one of the drawers, Ruby squealed and pulled out a candy bar. After tearing off the wrapper, she took a big bite and pointed at one of the screens.

"Some of the cameras still work," she explained while cycling through several views. "Oh man. This reminds me of when Weiss had me snoop around the building looking for that person stealing secrets. That was fun."

Yang glared at Weiss for the admission, but Weiss refused to look away from the screen. "What was that?" she asked instead, pointing at one of the images. The grainy picture made it difficult to see, but some sort of contraption had been left in the middle of a room. "Is that…?"

"Those are explosives," Blake said, stepping away from the screen as their next trap revealed itself. This one was a little more 'death trap' than simple 'trap,' but...it used one of the same words, at least.

"Time to go." Weiss grabbed Ruby's hand and dragged her out of the office while Yang and Blake followed close behind.

"Please tell me we're not taking the elevator," Yang said when Weiss pushed the down arrow.

"We're seventy stories up. Are you going to take the stairs?"

Again, Yang had no desire to get into the elevator, but Blake and Ruby rushed inside without hesitation.

"I think this might be too fast if you know what I mean," she grumbled, her heart racing as Weiss jammed the button for the lobby and tapped the door close button several times. The doors shut, and the four of them held their breath as the elevator dropped towards the ground floor. The lights above the elevator doors illuminated in rapid succession - sixty-five, sixty, fifty-five...

"Wait!" Yang gasped when a thought crossed her mind. "The code on the paper Ruby found - maybe that's how we disarm it!"

"If you want to disarm a bomb, you're on your own."

"I'm with Weiss on this one," Blake said, giving Yang an apologetic glance. "That's too risky. What if it's the wrong code? What if it sets everything off instead of disarming it?"

"I know how to disarm a bomb!" Ruby piped up. This time, however, Weiss raised a finger to her lips and shushed Ruby back to silence.

Fifty, forty-five...

A deep rumbling sound came from somewhere in the distance, filling Yang with foreboding that spiked when the elevator shook beneath their feet. The next instant, gravity disappeared as the screeching of metal-on-metal filled their ears.

Just as abruptly as it began, the elevator jerked to a stop and sent the four of them crashing to the floor.

"I'm sure no one heard that..." Weiss grumbled while getting to her feet and brushing off her arms.

"Hate to say 'I told you so,' but -"

The floor jolted under their feet, and they were falling again. The elevator hit something on the way down, throwing Yang into the wall like a ragdoll. Her shotgun flew out of her arms, someone's elbow or knee or shoulder hit her head, then everything slammed to the ground when the box jarred to a stop. In the mass confusion, she found herself tangled up with Blake, the two of them sharing a very intimate corner of the elevator -

"No time for that," Blake said, snapping Yang out of those thoughts as they untangled their limbs and got to their feet.

After pulling a crowbar from her waist, Blake pried open the elevator doors.

Recognizing the need to get out of there pronto, Yang grabbed one of the doors while Ruby grabbed the other. Between the two of them, they pulled the two doors open and found themselves staring at...the bottom three feet of a doorway.

"Oh no no no," Yang said, backing away while Blake and Ruby pried the interior door open. "I've seen the end of this movie. I'm not getting cut in half when this thing starts falling again."

"Then you'd better move fast," Weiss said before peering through the open doorway. Finding only a few pairs of feet ahead, she nodded, and Ruby and Blake wasted no time pulling themselves up and sliding through the small crack. Weiss was close behind, opting for a weird sideways roll, before Yang sighed and decided to risk it. If she got cut in half, well...that was a more interesting way to die than becoming zombie-bait like the rest of them.

Tossing her shotgun onto the floor in front of her, she put both elbows on the bottom of the gap and threw herself through the narrow opening. As she rolled away from the door, she grabbed her shotgun and spun back to her feet, striking an awesome fighting pose while scanning the...empty room…in front of her...

A few zombies had been wandering through the cubicles, but those had already been taken care of with some stealth kills courtesy of Blake and Ruby.

"And now the elevator plummets through the basement," Yang predicted, spinning towards the mangled elevator hanging in the elevator shaft. "Any second now..." she added when nothing happened.

"Uh, guys? You'll want to see this..."

Hearing the concerned tone, Yang gave up on the elevator and joined Ruby by the windows. They were still six or seven stories up, but that wasn't the only noteworthy observation. The massive horde of zombies shuffling across the parking lot was also pretty impressive.

"Guess they heard it..." Blake muttered, her dry tone masking any concern.

"They better not touch my truck."

When the first ghouls reached the zombie-crushing machine, they walked around it without hesitation, and Yang breathed a sigh of relief. If any more zombies put their grubby hands on Xander, she would have a fit.

"Oh yes. The truck will be fine," Weiss replied, sarcasm dripping from her tone. "That won't matter if we can't make it back to the truck."

"Fight through them?" Blake suggested. Yang opened her mouth to agree but froze when the entire building trembled.

"Whatever we do, we better do it before the building collapses."

"The building won't collapse," Weiss scoffed. "Twenty titanium rods anchor it three hundred feet in the ground. It can withstand an earthquake stronger than any in Vale's history. No way a small explosion brings it down."

When the building shuddered again, Yang exchanged a worried look with Blake. Since they hadn't been cut in half by the elevator, their chances of the building collapsing on them increased by about a factor of ten.

"Ok, but just in case - let's get out of here!"

Surprisingly (or not, considering the building gave another long shudder), Weiss didn't argue. Instead, the four of them raced back to the elevator.

"We should go to the parking garage!" Ruby suggested. "There have to be cars left down there."

"Good idea!"

Forgoing the dead-elevator, they sprinted to the stairwell instead. Blake reached the door first and yanked it open - only to slam it shut when an arm shot through. Without breaking speed, Yang slammed into the door beside Blake - the two of them holding it shut while hungry zombies on the other side tried to force their way through.

"The - arms!" Blake huffed while more arms reached through the gap - creepy, ghoulish fingers grasping the edge of the door. "Cut off the arms!"

This was the perfect time for Yang to use her machete. Figures she was stuck holding the door.

Grabbing the submachine gun from Blake's hip, Ruby raised the weapon and aimed at the edge of the door. Rapid gunfire rang out and, seconds later, the door slammed shut as severed arms fell to the floor, making several more grabbing motions before finally stilling.

One crisis solved, but the horde amassing in the stairwell was determined to force its way through. While Yang and Blake pushed against the door with all their might, Weiss and Ruby shoved a sofa in front of it. "That's not going to hold..." Weiss said, stating the obvious as the door inched open.

"Elevator it is," Yang agreed, racing back to the elevator shaft and looking at the elevator hanging below them.

"We can repel down the line," Blake said, gesturing to the thick cables dangling in front of them.

"This is why you always carry gloves." After quickly pulling on her gloves, Yang tentatively stepped on top of the broken elevator, half-expecting it to fall as soon as she touched it. Thankfully, it held - for now, at least. Reaching further into the elevator shaft, she grabbed a thick cable attached to one of the 'normal-people' elevators. Wrapping her arms and legs around it, she used her hands and feet to lower herself as fast as possible.

"Just like the gym, just like the gym," she muttered to herself all the while. "Cuz the rock wall was totally six stories high…"

No big deal, but if she fell from this height, she would probably die. Or break every bone in her body...then die.

"Watch out!"

Before she could look up, a body plummeted down the shaft beside her.

"Weiss, I kinda hope that was you!" she shouted while doubling her pace.

"I hope they dismantle your truck!"

"That's a low blow…" she grumbled as two more zombies fell right past her elbow.

As soon as she was only ten or so feet from the bottom, she let go and dropped the rest of the way. As luck had it, she landed at the same time another zombie crashed into the floor beside her, blessing her with the unique opportunity to view (at close range) exactly what a zombie looked like when it hit concrete at terminal velocity.

"Gross."

Worried that the next Z might fall on her rather than near her, she hurried to the elevator doors and started prying them open. With Blake's help, they shoved the doors open and sprinted into the parking garage as soon as Weiss and Ruby arrived.

"The valet -"

Blake hardly pointed out the threat before a single bullet sent the ghoul crumpling to the ground.

"Damn, Weiss. You have loyal employees." Looking around, Yang gasped when she spotted the perfect escape vehicle. "I want that one," she said, pointing at a bright yellow sports car that was just as beautiful as it was impractical. Hopping over the doubly dead valet, she opened the box holding keys and grabbed the first set that looked right. Clicking the 'unlock' button, she grinned when the vehicle's lights flashed.

"Hell yeah! Let's get out of here!"

"Can you even drive a manual?" Weiss asked as they piled into the tiny vehicle. Pulling on her seatbelt (safety was the highest priority in an apocalypse), Yang scoffed.

"Please. It's not even a manual. The rich dudes driving these things can't handle a stick." Shoving the key in the ignition and starting the engine, she grinned when the vehicle roared to life. "That's what I'm talking about." After checking the mirrors, she noticed an orange light on the dash. "Aw, what the hell - who buys this car and doesn't even fill up the tank?"

Throwing the car into reverse with a huff, she backed out of the parking spot and tore towards the exit. A short ramp led them out of the garage, taking them back into the sun and towards the parking lot crawling with zombies.

"Uh, Yang?" Blake asked when Yang stepped on the accelerator.

"This is the perfect car," she said while speeding straight towards the horde. "The low profile hood will throw them over us."

Blake looked unconvinced, but Yang was about to convince her. In three, two, one…

The first zombie hit the car with a jolt. But, at the speed they were traveling, the ghoul tumbled across the hood and flew into the air behind them. The next five Z's followed the same trajectory - bouncing off the hood, flying over the roof, and crashing to the pavement behind them.

"See?"

In the midst of feeling vindicated, Yang nearly screamed when glass suddenly shattered and she found herself staring straight into hollow eyes and an open, bloodthirsty mouth.

"Shit!" she shouted, swerving the car while trying to avoid the pock-marked arm that had made it through the windshield with that hungry mouth. The rest of its body slid around the roof while more zombies clunked off the hood or banged off the mirrors, but she couldn't see a damn thing with a zombie waving its hand in her face.

"Uh little help here?" she asked while leaning away from its grasping fingers. It grabbed at her hair, but its cold, disgusting flesh latched onto her wrist instead. It tried to drag her closer, but it could only squeeze her forearm - not hard enough to be painful, but not soft enough to be comforting either.

"Blake?" she asked when no one rushed to her aid. When she tried pulling her arm free and nearly drove them into a light pole, she shot Blake a look. "You're just going to let this thing stay here, aren't you."

"It doesn't look like you're in any immediate danger," Blake replied, hiding a smile while Ruby giggled in the backseat.

"You all suck." Leaning to the side so she could see around the zombie in the windshield, Yang sped the last few hundred feet before screeching to a stop beside Xander. "Everyone out!"

Unclipping her seat belt, she yanked her arm free of the zombie's grasp and jumped out of the car. Weiss was right behind her, while Blake and Ruby flew out the other side. Behind them, the zombies that had been making their way into the building decided to turn around and pursue a live meal instead.

While sprinting to the truck, Yang pulled out the keys and unlocked the doors. The lights flashed, welcoming them home, before she slid to a stop by the driver's side door and pulled herself inside. One, two, three, four doors slammed while she looked at the crowd of undead approaching. Beyond that, flames and smoke billowing out of the massive hole blown in Schnee Tower's side.

"Still standing," Weiss quipped as they tore out of the parking lot, leaving the horde behind. Rolling her eyes, Yang held about five different retorts at bay while focusing on getting them the hell out of there. Back on the freeway, taking out a few stranglers in the process, and finally to open road.

"Go south," Blake directed, gesturing at the sign for another freeway splitting off of theirs. Taking the advice without question, Yang drove over the interchange before finally slowing to a normal speed. Schnee Tower loomed in the rearview mirror, dark smoke billowing into the sky, but the damn building was still standing.

With the imminent danger fading away, they could figure out where to go next. But first -

"Yang?"

"Yeah?" she asked, glancing at Ruby in the rearview mirror.

"I need to go to the bathroom."

Chuckling at the request, Yang kept her eyes peeled for an easily accessible, easily defensible bathroom. Gas stations were a dime a dozen next to the freeway, but some of them were burned out, some were too lively, and some were just too disgusting.

"That one will probably work," Blake suggested, pointing out an abandoned gas station at the next exit.

"Perfect. Maybe we can fill up here too."

After parking by one of the pumps, Yang turned off the engine and hopped out. While she stretched her legs and wiped zombie goo off her arm, Ruby raced off to the restroom. Blake walked around the truck and stood beside Yang, and Weiss stared in the direction Ruby just went, looking like she wanted to follow but also didn't want to seem overprotective.

"Well," Yang said while twisting from side to side. "That was exciting."

"That's one way to put it…"

"I'd prefer not to experience that type of 'excitement' again," Weiss added.

"But it was so cool!"

The typical-Ruby answer made Yang chuckle until she realized something important. Ruby hadn't returned from the bathroom yet, and Yang didn't recognize the voice.

The three of them made the realization at the same moment. In unison, they drew their weapons and spun around.