Yang strolled into the kitchen and grinned at her companions already gathered for breakfast.
"Good morning, everyone! Ready to save a random dude we've never met?"
"Someone's chipper..." Weiss grumbled before taking a sip from the mug in her hands. "Couldn't be at all related to those noises we heard last night..."
"There were a lot of zombies around," Ruby teased before leaning over and kissing Weiss' cheek. In doing so, she gave everyone a good view of the dark marks all over her neck.
"Ruby…it looks like you were bitten."
When Blake gestured at the marks, Ruby blushed and pulled up the collar of her shirt. Yang, meanwhile, sat down and glared at Weiss.
"I have to kill you now."
"Why would you do that?" Weiss replied with a smirk. "She enjoyed it. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been begging me for more."
Yang scowled at the response, but Ruby cleared her throat and hid her flaming-red cheeks behind her mug. "I did," she whispered so softly that Yang almost didn't hear. Unfortunately, she heard Ruby loud and clear, and immediately wished she could wipe that memory from her thoughts and the smug expression from Weiss' face.
"And Ren's not random!" Nora added as a much-needed subject change. "I've met him, so I know he's real."
"But you're the only one," Yang pointed out. "How do we know he's not just an imaginary friend?" As soon as the thought occurred to her, she froze and gave Nora a searching look. "He's not an imaginary friend, right?"
"I wish! Then I'd have two of him."
When Nora made a happy sound at the thought of having an imaginary friend of a friend, Yang shook her head and returned to the matter at hand. She used to be totally on board with rescuing people, but now these hero side quests were keeping her from doing other, far more pleasurable things.
"So," she began while grabbing a granola bar for breakfast. "Now that we've got some sweet new toys, do we know how we're getting this guy?"
"Kill all the zombies; save Ren!" Nora proclaimed, crushing an empty wrapper in one hand. The enthusiasm was top-notch, but Weiss gave Nora a dubious look before turning to Yang.
"Shouldn't you come up with a plan? Considering you're the 'hero' and all."
"Hero not 'hero,'" Yang corrected. "And my plan involves…" As soon as she glanced at Blake, and Blake winked, a blush rushed onto her cheeks and she cleared her throat. "My plan involves staying here all day, so unless you have something else in mind…"
"I have an idea!" Ruby piped up, and Yang sent Weiss a triumphant look.
"See? I don't need a plan when Ruby comes up with them." Weiss rolled her eyes at the response, but Yang motioned for Ruby to explain.
"Ok, so the building's by the water, right?" she began excitedly. "So, all we need to do is get some scuba gear, go down to the harbor, and swim in through the channel. They'll never see us coming!"
"Love it!" Just as excited as Ruby was, Nora offered a hand-bruising high-five. "Let's do that."
"But we don't have any scuba gear," Blake pointed out. "And our weapons won't hold up underwater."
"Waterproof bags," Ruby suggested without a dent in her grin.
"What Blake meant to say," Weiss cut in, sending Blake an annoyed glance. "Is what a smart idea, Ruby. That would absolutely be the best plan, but we'd need to find the appropriate equipment first."
"And learn how to use it," Yang added. "I got another idea though - less 'awesome spy' and more 'action hero.'" Now that she had everyone's attention, she grinned and said, "We take our shiny new guns and knock down the front door. They'll never expect it!"
"I love that more!" Nora squealed, clapping her approval while Weiss rolled her eyes. "You guys are so cool. I wish Ren got kidnapped forever ago."
Chuckling at the sentiment (that was sentiment, right?), Yang took a bite to eat and waved at the cache of weapons in the hall. "Who gets the laser gun?"
"I do," Ruby answered, much to Yang's surprise. "Nora and I had a competition for it."
"Oh yeah? Who was the judge?"
"Weiss!"
Knowing how that turned out, Yang shot Weiss a glance and confirmed her supreme smugness. "I was completely impartial," she lied before finishing her tea. She couldn't even hide a smile about it either - that was how pleased she was about getting Ruby a fancy, high-tech weapon for the day.
"Good for you, Ruby." After high-fiving Ruby, Yang motioned towards the door. "Let's get this show on the road? I've got other things to do."
"Or other people?"
Blake paired the suggestion with an incredibly sexy smirk before leaving the kitchen. And her ass, again, was working so hard that Yang didn't even bother trying to look away.
"For once, I agree with you," Weiss added with a sigh. "I miss when Ruby and I got to spend all day in bed…"
That comment barged in on Yang's wandering thoughts, and she made a face while turning back to the table. "Ew. Princess, I don't need to hear about my sister's sex life."
"Yet we have to hear yours?"
When Yang blushed from the memory of last night and in embarrassment that they were overheard, Weiss smirked and walked away. Taking that as a cue to exit the conversation, Yang joined Blake in the entryway, where their new weapons had been meticulously arranged and categorized courtesy of their resident hoarders.
"Maybe I'll try this on for size?" Yang picked up a high-powered assault rifle and shrugged. "Feels good."
"Then you share something in common," Blake whispered in Yang's ear before dragging a finger down her spine. The sensation had Yang shuddering in no time, and her desire to leave the house evaporated.
"Ok!" Clapping her hands as the rest of their super crew assembled, she backed towards the door. "Let's save this guy as fast as possible!"
"Some hero…" Weiss mumbled as everyone else geared up and headed outside.
Plenty of hero opportunities lurked on the horizon - of that, Yang was certain. She was so certain that her motivation was a little lacking at the moment. She understood that her main mission was still in progress, but the most important mission (in her mind, at least) had already concluded. Now, she wanted to enjoy the fruits of her labor.
That would have to wait for later, as this baby bird wasn't about to save himself (if he could, that would be much obliged). So the five of them headed outside and loaded into the truck. It wasn't long before they were on their way - destination: the waterfront.
"Remember how bad traffic used to be?" Yang commented as they soared along the freeway. "Gridlock daily, slow drivers always."
"Are you saying you prefer how things are now?"
"Of course not! I'm just saying...traffic's better. Silver lining, right?"
Whereas Blake smiled, Yang didn't even need to look in the rearview mirror to know that Weiss rolled her eyes. But Weiss rolled her eyes at everything, so Yang didn't spare it a second thought while exiting the freeway and driving towards the water.
Certain parts of the waterfront took a beating in the earliest days of the outbreak, as most of the city thought setting off on a boat was the best means of survival. For the people who got there first, it probably worked. Everyone else rushed towards 'safety' only to encounter one of the scariest and grossest things in existence: water zombies.
These days, what remained of the various industrial and luxury apartment buildings sat abandoned and unused. The lifeless area took on another version of creepiness thanks to the harbor breeze sending loose papers tumbling across the roads. Every flicker of motion sent Yang's pulse higher, only for her to shake her head at yet another piece of garbage.
The massive water filtration plant sat partially on top of the river cutting through the city. Everything about the building looked too big, but apparently Vale needed a crap-ton of water during its heyday. Storage tanks towered in the distance. An enormous water wheel still turned, courtesy of the river that hadn't stopped running even though the city had. And the building itself loomed at least ten stories tall, vastly dwarfing them as they drove nearer.
"There's the gate." Blake pointed to a chain-link fence blocking the road up ahead. "Looks like a padlock," she added. "I can get through that easy."
"Know what?" Yang said, gripping the steering wheel and smiling at Blake. "You sit tight. I got this one."
Confusion hardly registered in Blake's eyes before Yang stepped on the accelerator.
"Yang -"
"Is she going to do what I think she's going to do?" Weiss asked from the backseat.
"Sure am," Yang replied, holding the truck steady as it gained speed.
"You realize that fence will scratch your precious Xander -"
"Yup. Still doing it."
"Yang, really. I'm fine getting out."
"Yeah, but let me do this for you," she said. "Least I can do after last night…" she added while the fence grew closer and closer. At the last second, she thought about slamming on the brakes (Xander was still in pretty pristine shape…) but thought better of it. Instead, the truck slammed into the fence, tore the gate off its hinges, and threw it into the air behind them. It crashed to the ground with a loud clatter as they raced towards the building's entrance.
"That - was - awesome!" Nora shouted.
"Totally!" Ruby agreed. "We should open all gates like that!"
As the surge of adrenaline wore off, Yang chuckled and tried to brush off her worry. Xander was probably fine. Just a few scratches, that's all.
"I'll admit that was...invigorating," Weiss admitted. "Blake, you should've slept with her a long time ago."
"You act like I didn't try." Setting a hand on Yang's shoulder, Blake smiled. "That was a bit of a turn-on."
"Really?"
"Mhmm…"
Pulling to a stop near the front entrance, Yang put the truck in park and stared at Blake. Ok, screw Xander. Sorry, bud. But if Blake thought driving through fences was hot, then they were driving through more fences.
"Hold that thought?" she asked, grinning when Blake nodded and opened the door.
"You know it."
Now that they'd arrived, the five of them jumped out of the truck and loaded up. "Do you really need those?" Yang asked while Nora strapped a belt of grenades around her waist.
"I hope so."
Chuckling at Nora's zeal, Yang decided to leave it at that. "Alright, let's do this. Everyone got their headsets?" After receiving nods, she nodded once and headed towards the front door.
"The lights are on," Blake pointed out as they approached.
"The facility is self-powered," Weiss explained. "If they figured out how to run the systems off reserve energy, the river does the rest."
That was enough of an explanation for Yang, who kept her head on a swivel while approaching the entrance. Once upon a time, the filtration plant must have invited visitors to witness the miracle of water treatment - that could be the only explanation for a lobby that went above and beyond Yang's wildest dreams.
"Woah. This place is...woah."
That was the simplest way to describe the far side of the lobby, which was made entirely of glass. Through that glass wall, the inner workings of the facility loomed before their eyes - giant pools of water and towering machinery unlike anything Yang had seen before. The best part (or worst part, depending on how you looked at it) was the sound of rushing water. Even in the lobby, the steady roar was near-deafening. In another life, it might be peaceful, or an excuse to use the restroom. In this life…
"Hard to hear anything…" Blake mumbled.
"Jump-scare heaven," Ruby proclaimed while raising a hand to give Yang a high five.
"Hopefully, the Zs will have just as hard of a time hearing us," Yang suggested, slapping Ruby's hand before glancing around the giant room. "But this place is huge. How're we going to find anything in here?"
"We have to split up." After sharing a glance with Blake, who nodded, Weiss motioned Ruby after her. "Come on - we'll go this way. You three head that way. Whoever spots him first, radio and the other group will come help. And try to keep quiet so we don't wake up the whole damn building. Sound good?"
When Weiss looked around, they all nodded.
"So ready to kill some zombies!" Nora added.
"We're trying to be quiet, remember?" Blake reminded Nora with a wary glance.
"So ready to quietly kill some zombies!" she corrected with the same amount of gusto.
"Last team to find him makes dinner," Yang joked before waving Nora and Blake after her. Ruby and Weiss headed towards the other side of the lobby, hand-in-hand as if going on a museum tour. Which made Yang wonder...did they consider these excursions to be dates?
Shaking that thought out of her head, she focused on the mission. After the lobby, they entered a hallway just as oversized as the rest of the building. Fortunately, the excessive size provided ample breathing room and a reasonable means of escape. If they had a smaller vehicle, or motorcycles, they could even drive through the halls.
"We're lucky, Nora," Yang whispered as they crept onward, glancing through every window they passed. "If anyone can find him, it's Blake Belladonna - the Queen of Sneak."
"No one calls me that."
"The Queen of Sneak," Nora repeated, much to Yang's amusement. "I like it. I'll call you that!"
When Blake sent Yang a look, Yang grinned and made a show of peering through the small, square window on the next door in the hall. Seeing nothing but a few desks, computers, and file cabinets inside, she shook her head and motioned them onward.
"It'll take forever to find him like this…" she muttered to Blake when the next room turned out to be equally empty. No big deal, but the hallway had probably fifty doorways to check, and that didn't count the other halls branching off of it.
"Maybe we can find the security office and check the cameras." Yang's brow rose, so Blake gestured at a 'hidden' security camera above them. "If the power's on, maybe the feeds are still running," Blake added before shrugging off what an awesome idea that was.
"You're a genius," Yang said before raising her hand to her earpiece to relay their new objective to Weiss and Ruby.
"Wait."
Yang and Blake froze at the instruction before slowly turning towards Nora, who slowly spun in a circle and sniffed the air. Her intent expression filled Yang with worry, especially as her motions finally stilled and her eyes widened.
"He's here!"
Before Yang processed the words, Nora dropped her gun to the ground and sprinted away from them. She'd already made it to the next intersection by the time Yang opened her mouth, but by then Nora had already checked both directions before tearing off to the right.
"Nora!" Yang finally called in a loud whisper before sighing. "Dammit…" she muttered before pressing the talk button on her headset. "Weiss, Nora just took off. Keep an eye out for her."
"You couldn't watch her for three minutes?"
After grabbing Nora's shotgun, Yang picked up an abandoned earpiece and showed Blake. "Sorry, Weiss," she said while Blake shook her head. "I was never a good babysitter!"
There was silence on the other end of the line, but Yang knew Weiss was grumbling about how irresponsible she was. Like it was her fault she couldn't keep tabs on a hyperactive girl whose survival tactics included pretending to be a zombie and running through an abandoned building with nothing but a belt of grenades.
"I really hope she has another weapon on her..." Yang mumbled while slinging the extra shotgun over her shoulder and motioning Blake down the hall. "Come on. Let's find her before some Zs do."
Their search-and-rescue mission just became a double rescue, with one of those rescuees running around like a maniac. Fortunately, they knew the general direction that Nora went, so hopefully they found her sooner rather than later. In the meantime, they checked every room they passed, finding an assortment of offices, test facilities, and giant rooms housing all kinds of machinery.
After spotting another black bubble in the corner of the ceiling, Yang tapped her earpiece and said, "Hey, if you find a security room, see if you can access the cameras and find this guy. Or Nora."
"That has to be Blake's idea," Weiss replied. "But we'll keep an eye out," she added when Yang rolled her eyes.
"Thank you." After the line fell silent, Yang smiled at Blake. "Why couldn't Weiss go running off like a lunatic?"
"She's too chained to Ruby to do that."
"You're right," Yang agreed with a laugh at Weiss' expense. For someone who basically used to rule the world, Weiss now lived to serve Ruby. Exactly how it should be, in Yang's opinion, but that didn't make it any less amusing to watch the high-powered, high-attitude Schnee become a kitten whenever Ruby smiled.
"Then it's only Nora we have to worry about," Yang added.
"And you realize it's even more likely she's behind this," Blake replied while they glanced into a massive room filled with massive pipes.
"What? Why?"
"You don't think it's suspicious that as soon as we walk in here she takes off on her own? Almost as if she wants to set up something - like a trap?"
"Or she actually thinks she can smell this guy." After sniffing the air, Yang grimaced. "All I smell is musk and stuff."
"Then how did she know where to go?"
"She probably didn't. She's just running around without a clue."
"That does seem like something she'd do…" Blake admitted before shaking her head. "I'm sticking with my theory - she's behind this."
"If she is, then she's way smarter than I'm giving her credit - wait." Before Yang finished that sentence, she held out an arm to stop Blake. Once they were perfectly still, she carefully peeked around the corner and found a single ghoul standing in the hall.
Based on the badge clipped to a grimy polo shirt, it had haunted this building in life and death, but Yang wasn't about to ask for directions. Instead, she watched it spin in a mindless circle in its never-ending search for food. As soon as its attention moved away, she motioned Blake forward, and the two of them raced across the hall.
"You've gotten better at this," Blake whispered as they continued onward.
"Learned from the best," Yang whispered in return. The next second, however, Blake grabbed her arm and dragged her backward.
"Look."
Still holding Yang's arm, Blake pointed at the thin, nearly invisible wire running across the hall in front of them. After sharing a look, they stepped over the tripwire and followed it up the wall before disappearing through a crack in a door.
"Please be puppies, please be puppies," Yang whispered to herself before looking into the room and sighing. "So what you said about me being better at sneaking around…"
"You are better," Blake said while pulling Yang away from the zombie-filled room. "That doesn't mean you're good at it yet."
"Ouch. Brutal honesty - I can take it."
"Don't worry. You're quite good at other things."
Catching the smirk, Yang blushed and cleared her throat before attempting a response. She wanted to say that Blake was great too - like really, really great - but she didn't know if she could bring up last night without sounding like a lovestruck fool. Instead, she gestured at the tripwire they'd successfully avoided.
"So...trip the wire, it opens the door and sends zombies into the hall?" she guessed before chuckling to herself. "Classic."
"The question is...how did Nora not set that off?"
"Maybe she didn't go this way."
"Maybe..."
"Or maybe she's the evil genius behind this," Yang added, chuckling at Blake's fascination with the uber-dramatic plot twist. "You realize she was in the truck when we spotted the helicopter."
"She has accomplices."
Smiling at that 'master plan,' Yang glanced into another huge room with more huge equipment. She'd nearly turned away when a flash of orange caught her eye, dragging her gaze back and making her groan.
"Or she could be creeping around some random room," she said while pointing to the girl picking her way across the catwalk above the room. When Blake glanced through the window and spotted their runaway rescuee, she sighed.
"I don't even know how to respond to that," was all she said before Yang dragged her away from the glass in search of a way in.
"Here."
Spotting an open doorway, probably the one Nora used, Yang shoved it all the way open and found a staircase leading upstairs.
"Why the hell is she in here?" Blake whispered while they quietly made their way to the top of the catwalk.
"Good question, but we probably won't understand the answer."
Yang didn't think the room was special until she reached the top of the abnormally high catwalk and realized that the giant shapes below them were actually monstrous metal containers holding thousands of gallons of crystal-clear water. Three identical tanks stood in the room, probably holding purified water that would be pushed out to the city, or used as some ridiculously big swimming pools.
Nora stood above the center tank and stared down into the water, looking transfixed by its clean, clear quality.
"Nora," Yang hissed while she and Blake crept across the catwalk. Hearing her name, Nora glanced their way before returning her attention to the water beneath her.
"Look."
When Nora pointed at the water, Yang shared a glance with Blake before they walked closer. Every step put them in more danger, leaving them out in the open where nearby Zs could spot them, but now they were curious as to what Nora found.
As soon as Yang saw what lurked inside the second tank of water, her adrenaline kicked in, and then ramped into high gear when Nora reached for her belt stuffed with grenades.
The vat was filled with crystal-clear water...and zombies. Some of them were dead dead, but most of them just stood on the bottom of the tank doing nothing. From the state of them, they hadn't been there for long. Otherwise, they'd be...much more disgusting.
"Nora!" Yang hissed again, louder this time. Now that she knew what was in the tank, she knew they needed to leave this place just as they found it - that was why she vigorously shook her head 'no' when Nora looked at her. Disregarding the instruction, Nora slowly unhooked a grenade from her belt and pulled out the pin.
"Yang…" Blake whispered from beside her.
"Nora," Yang tried again. Admittedly, it would be a little cool to toss a grenade in and see what happened, and this might be the best seat in the house, but she hadn't bought a ticket for this show.
"That's a bad idea."
Shockingly, Nora considered the advice. Her nod even gave Yang reason to hope. Then she unhooked a second grenade.
"You're right. This is better."
"That's not better! That's way worse!"
Ignoring the advice, Nora pulled the second pin with her teeth and spit it aside. It hit the metal catwalk with a loud clang that reverberated through the room, then proceeded to knock into every possible surface on the way down.
A small part of Yang hoped the water muffled the sound. A much larger part of her knew they weren't that lucky. That was proven especially true when every zombie looked up. And, even though their eyesight must be horrible, they knew a meal when they saw one.
Suddenly, the water started churning as the zombies tried to make it out of the tank. It wasn't long before they were climbing over top of each other, and even less time before the first arm broke the surface.
But Nora already pulled the pins. What was she supposed to do - hold the grenades until they found someplace for her to toss them? And hope she didn't accidentally let go before then?
"Shit. Drop 'em and run!"
Yang hardly saw the grenades leave Nora's hands before she grabbed Blake's hand and raced back the way they came. Their footsteps clanged against the catwalk as they sprinted towards the staircase, but they hardly made it to the first tank of water before an explosion rocked the room.
It wasn't the typical explosion like what Yang was used to. This one was more muted, but accompanied by a loud whoosh as a geyser of water and body parts shot into the air. That by itself wouldn't have been so bad, but the deafening screeching of metal twisting apart screamed that their luck just ran out. And that was before the zombie-filled tank tipped over, spilled its contents onto the floor, and simultaneously knocked over the second tank.
The next instant, the walkway disappeared from under Yang's feet and she ran on air. Then she was falling. She hardly had time to yell (valiantly) before landing in a tsunami of water that smashed through the room's windows and swept them into the hall. She gasped for air when she broke the surface, only to abruptly find herself underwater as the deluge raced through the building.
"Blake!" she called out before being dunked back underneath. After sputtering her way back to the surface, she spotted Blake nearby, being dragged along for the ride as much as she was. The water burst through another panel of glass with another loud crash, and suddenly they were swept into another huge room. Noticing the floor disappearing in front of them, however, she realized they might be in trouble.
"Hold on!" she shouted as they shot towards the ledge. At the last second, she managed to grab onto the railing of yet another catwalk, then ducked her head and held on for dear life as water and debris washed over her. Only when the onslaught ended did she feel something clinging to her legs.
"Yang, don't!" Blake called out right before she freaked out and tried to kick the weight off of her.
"Blake?"
"Yeah, it's me."
"Shit…" Yang breathed out before straining to get a better handhold. About time her hero skills kicked in. She just wished they would've kicked in before leaving them dangling from who knew how high up above who knew what kind of ugly demise.
"Does this count as saving you again?" she directed over her shoulder while they hung there.
"Are you really thinking about that right now?"
"Pretty sure I'll always be thinking about that..."
After trying to pull them back up, to no avail, she smiled when Blake laughed.
"If we make it out of here, you'll be rewarded."
"Good...enough...for me." One hand at a time, Yang pulled herself several inches forward while Blake held onto her legs. On an ordinary day, she could do this no problem. Today, however, her shoulder still hurt a little bit from that 'reinforced glass incident' of yesterday.
"Having issues?"
"Nope. Not at all." Struggling for breath probably clued Blake in on the lie, but Yang could get them out of this - a few inches at a time.
She truly believed that until she looked up and realized that not all of the water zombies had washed past them. Some had ended up on the catwalk and were struggling back to their feet. Even worse, the closest one was using its arms to drag itself towards her, its water-logged skin sagging off its bones while its dead eyes stared into hers.
"Uh...Blake? Will we survive that drop?"
"Probably, but - Yang, wait!"
It was too late. Determined not to let the crawler bite her face off, she let go of the catwalk and felt gravity take hold. She heard a splash before she plunged into another pool of cold, dark water. After a few seconds of disorientation, she kicked back to the surface. As soon as she broke through, she wiped her eyes and looked around.
They were now several stories below the hanging walkway, treading water that was decidedly less crystal clear.
"Please tell me this is clean," she said after finding Blake nearby, looking equally disturbed by the dark brown water.
"Let's just get out of here..."
Heeding the advice, Yang swam to the side of the pool and quickly pulled herself out. Blake was right beside her, the two of them now soaking wet from head to toe.
"Well, that was fun…"
After squeezing water from her hair, Blake ran a hand through it and tossed it over her shoulders. The straight-out-of-the-shower look caught Yang's immediate attention, as did the way Blake's skin glistened with moisture.
"Wow. How do you look even hotter?" As soon as Yang asked the question, Blake smiled and rolled her eyes. "Seriously, you look like you're about to model swimsuits or something."
"Save that for later," Blake teased, suddenly much less annoyed as she took in their current predicament. The catwalk zombies kept walking right off the edge and splashing into the murky water below. Who knew how many were in the water now...Yang was just happy to be out of it.
"It's time to go," Blake finally suggested - a good idea considering the surface of the water roiled a bit much for Yang's taste. Before the undead figured out how to get out of another watery grave, the two of them hurried out of the room and made sure to shut the door behind them. Finding themselves in yet another wide hall with even more windows and doors looking into even more giant rooms with giant pieces of machinery, Yang sighed.
"I'm just going to say it - this place sucks."
When Blake smiled at the honest statement, Yang tried to make the best of the situation. Their waterlogged shoes squeaked against the floors, but the sound was mostly drowned out by the incessant droning permeating the building. Their clothes were soaking wet, but that meant Blake's clung to her in an irresistible way.
"You know, this isn't so bad," Yang added a few seconds later, drawing Blake's curious gaze. "Sure, we're tracking down a psychopath while helping a lunatic, and we probably just got dunked in something super gross, but at least we have each other, right?"
"That's sweet." Smiling, Blake reached out and gently brushed her fingers across Yang's cheek. "For being so great at shooting Zs, you're still incredibly endearing."
"That's just...who I am..." Yang managed to reply, though the intimacy made her heart sputter. The feeling only increased when Blake leaned closer, and she'd hardly processed the incoming kiss before Blake froze.
"Of course…" Their lips were so close that Blake's breath brushed across Yang's cheek, increasing her desire by a magnitude of ten. Unfortunately, Blake backed away and nodded at something over Yang's shoulder. "He's right there."
"Are you...serious?" Before getting an answer, Yang spun around and sighed too. "Figures…" she grumbled under her breath when she spotted a young man with black hair sitting in the massive room.
From where they were, on the upper level looking down, they could clearly see him amongst several wide, long pools of water that would look like reflection ponds if they weren't so dirty. But they were dirty, so it was just more pools of brown water serving a purpose Yang didn't want to know about.
"Hold that thought?"
Yang waited for Blake's small smile and nod before they searched for a way into the room. After thinking she'd finally gotten the monkey off of her back, it was a little disappointing that things were still getting in the way of them being together. But that should be over as soon as they rescued their runaway bird.
"Oh, in here!"
Spotting a door into the room, Yang had already pulled it open and taken a step forward before realizing something important. Unfortunately, Blake ran into her before she could back up. At least, that was her excuse for why they suddenly found themselves on their asses sliding down the staircase.
Fortunately, it was only a couple of stories before they reached the bottom, unceremoniously tumbling away from the stairs before coming to a stop. Having picked up a few new bruises, Yang groaned while pushing herself up onto her elbows and looking up.
Someone had covered the staircases with thick, clear sheets of plastic. If Yang had known that in advance, it would have made for a cool entrance. Instead, they arrived in a more painful, less graceful way.
"Getting kind of tired of this crap…" she groaned while pushing herself to her feet and offering Blake a hand up.
"Why would anyone bother doing that," Blake grumbled in response.
"Because watching you tumble down it was hilarious."
Spinning towards the unfamiliar voice, Yang spotted someone on the catwalk above them. Complete with a hood obscuring their face and a trendy, blood-smeared sword hanging at their side, their aura screamed villain.
"Uh, guys…" Yang whispered into her headset, her eyes never leaving the figure standing over them. "Now would be a great time to show up."
Not even a second later, she heard a door open followed by shouts of surprise as Weiss and Ruby entered the room in the same way she and Blake just had. Admittedly, it was pretty funny to watch them tumble down the slippery stairs before sliding to a stop on the floor nearby.
"This is where I gloat that Weiss fell for a trick," Yang teased.
"Your sister fell for it," Weiss retorted while Ruby pulled her back to her feet. "I was too late to stop her."
"So you jumped in first?"
"To protect her!"
"Sure…"
"Silence!" the hooded figure shouted. Falling quiet, they all watched with varying degrees of surprise or curiosity as the person walked closer, each step echoing on the metal catwalk. Several yards away, they stopped and raised their arms.
"Welcome to hell."