a/n: Well, this is a bit of a shorter chapter than I intended, but given that it's basically just one big fight scene, I'm just glad I was able to get out about four pages.
TW: Adam is, as always, an abusive jackass. When you get to the part about Blake getting lifted off the ground, you might want to skip ahead to the sentence "You okay?" if you can't stomach domestic violence.
Chapter 4: Close Encounters
Blake jumped to another branch as Yang flew into the branch she had been perched on a second ago, and winced as the other girl impacted the branch at a higher speed than what was probably healthy for the human body.
"I have no quarrel with you," Blake stated as she pointed Gambol Shroud's blade at the human, "Nobody has to get hurt today."
"Sorry sweetheart," Yang stated as she pulled herself onto the branch, "But I'm taking that big metal disk with me, so you can either give it to me now." She raised her fists. "Or I can take it from you."
"You'll have to catch me first," Blake replied. Yang exploded forwards, and Blake jumped to another tree and left behind a shadowy decoy to take the hit. Yang passed through it, as expected, only to immediately fire a bullet into the branch Blake was standing on. "Oh." The branch broke off the second Blake shifted her weight. She screamed as she fell from the tree, the device slipping from her grip and rolling across the forest floor. She was fortunate enough to land on her feet with catlike grace, only to notice an armored fist flying right for her face.
Clang!
"If you think I'm gonna let you escape with Bumblebee's homing beacon, you've got another thing coming!" Yang shouted as the explosive round her punch launched pushed Blake back.
"Homing beacon?" Blake replied as she switched Gambol Shroud to pistol mode and took a shot at Yang, "What the Hell are you talking about?" Yang tanked the shot and ran at Blake as Bumblebee knocked a White Fang thug into a tree.
"Bumblebee needs that device to get home!" Yang replied as Blake knocked away a right hook with the flat side of Gambol Shroud, "What do you even want with it?"
"Like I'd tell a human!" Blake shouted as she slashed at Yang with Gambol Shroud.
.
Bumblebee realized very quickly that he had underestimated the White Fang. While the hilt of Adam's blade bounced ineffectively off of his helmet, it did serve as a pretty decent distraction to Adam running right at him and catching the blade to slash at his leg. It hadn't hurt, but it did trip him up. Which of course made actually aiming at the White Fang thugs even trickier. He was able to blast one into a tree, but the others were still able to keep pretty steady gunfire, and whenever he got his footing he'd get tripped up by a chain.
"Still think you can take us?" Adam mocked as he walked right up to Bumblebee's face.
The Autobot scout growled and punched him into the tree Yang had found his homing beacon under. "Slag-brained idiot," he mumbled as he shifted into motorcycle mode and swerved around, kicking up as much dirt at the White Fang gunners as possible, and sped off in the direction that Yang had chased Adam's maskless friend. "Okay, if I can overtake them and knock over the tree the other girl was in-" he skidded to a halt and collided with the black-haired girl, knocking her off her feet as he shifted back into robot mode.
"Wow, you made quick work of them," Yang remarked, only for a bullet to whiz past her head as the black-haired girl pushed herself back to her feet.
"There it is!" one of the White Fang thugs shouted as the other gunners caught up, "Open fire!" Yang ducked behind a tree as a hailstorm of bullets filled the air she had just been standing in, with Bumblebee taking a similar cue as the black-haired girl yelped and dissolved into shadows.
"Watch where you're shooting!" she shouted from her own hiding spot.
"Sorry Blake!" one of the gunners replied.
Blake simply glared at the gunners, then spotted the homing beacon resting just a few feet away from her hiding place. She made a mad dash for it, only to fall over as her Aura solidified around her.
"I wonder if I could've made my life easier by using that on Adam," Bumblebee mused as he fired several shots in front of the gunners to kick up clouds of dirt and smoke, then dashed for the homing beacon.
.
Yang punched a couple of bullets at where she'd seen the gunners, then ducked between two trees to avoid the retaliatory volley
"This is not how I expected tonight to go," she admitted before jumping out from her cover to fire her own return volley.
Crack! Yang ducked at the gunshot sound and watched as a red blade soared right over her head, hilt first, and struck a tree behind her. Yang saw a red and black blur and propelled herself for the blade, her fingers closing around the hilt right as she made out Adam's Grimm mask. Without thinking, she swung the red blade at him, slashing across the criminal's Aura.
"Leave him alone!" Blake screamed as she charged Yang with her katana. Yang tried to block it, but due to having no prior experience wielding a sword, one strike from Blake was enough to loosen her grip. When Adam charged at her, Yang unthinkingly jabbed the sword at him, and right back into its scabbard. The scabbard that was also a firearm.
"Oh grapes." Adam pulled the trigger, propelling the hilt of the sword into Yang's midriff, and tearing it from her grasp in one fell swoop. Adam grabbed the hilt of his blade with a grin as Yang stumbled back.
"Oh no you don't!" Bumblebee shouted as he fired an energon blast at the bull Faunus. Adam turned to face Bumblebee and unsheathed most of his blade, catching the blast on the flat side of his katana as he was pushed back against a tree trunk.
"It's over," Adam announced as he sheathed his blade, "FINISHED!" His body was enveloped in a blood-red radiance, a Hellish corona encompassing his body as he flashed his teeth in a demonic smile. He unsheathed his blade and slashed through the air in one fell swoop, and a red flash struck Bumblebee in the chest.
BANG! The flash exploded as Bumblebee's Aura flashed, the Autobot staggering back and crying out in pain as he dropped the homing beacon. A hand flew up to the scratch on his chest, a pink liquid oozing from the wound.
"Impossible! Nothing's ever survived a direct hit from Moonslice before!" Adam shouted as he pointed his scabbard at Bumblebee, "What are you?!"
"You… You made me bleed," Bumblebee remarked as he removed his hand from the injury, a pink liquid staining his palm even as his Aura got to work sealing the wound, "Looks like I'll have to change up my strategy." He swapped out his shotguns for his glowing Energon blades.
"Kill it!" Adam shouted, panic bleeding into his voice as he fired several shots out of his scabbard gun. Bumblebee lunged forward, only for a chain to wrap around his neck. When he retracted his blades to reach for the chain, chains wrapped around his wrists as well. Each of the chain-wielding White Fang thugs was joined by two others.
Bumblebee let out an electronic screech as the chain around his neck tightened, pink blood leaking out of the left side of his neck. He was forced to his knees as the thugs on both sides of him pulled his arms in two different directions.
"Bumblebee!" Yang shouted as she set off two explosive rounds behind herself, knocking Blake and Adam off their feet. The three remaining free White Fang thugs charged Yang with knives in their hands. Yang threw a punch at the one on the right, firing a bullet to send him flying. A left hook put the second one on the ground. She grabbed the last one's arm, ignited her hair as her eyes turned red, punched him in the gut and fired an explosive round, and let go of his arm as he flew into the three pulling on Bumblebee's left arm. They lost their grip, and Bumblebee reached for the chain around his neck. Yang dashed over them and barreled into the three tugging on the chain digging into Bumblebee's neck, punching and kicking them away from the chain. The Autobot Scout pulled the laxed chain off his neck, allowing the reopened wound on his neck to heal, and then shook the chain off his right wrist. He then deployed his Energon shotgun and turned towards the White Fang thugs restraining his right arm.
"Drop it," Bumblebee growled with a static-like rasp as the barrels of his weapon glowed. The White Fang grunts wisely decided not to test if they had enough Aura to survive a direct hit from his weapon and dropped the chain. Even backing away with nervous grins for extra measure.
"You okay?" Yang asked as her Scroll vibrated.
"I'll live," Bumblebee rasped as he rubbed his neck, before turning to face the imprint on the grass where his homing beacon had been, "What?"
"Did you really think we'd just sit there twiddling our thumbs while you were preoccupied?" Adam asked as he stepped forward, "My darling's already picked up whatever that disc is, and now you'll never find it!"
"What do you even want with it?" Yang asked, "It's no use to you!"
"I figured that out when it didn't explode," Adam admitted with a shrug, "But at this point, it's a matter of principle, besides-" he charged forward and slashed his sword at Yang, only to strike a blue Energon blade instead. "I. Never. Lose!"
"Never say never," Bumblebee replied as he shoved Adam back with a swing of his blade, "Now where did your 'darling' run off to?" The Autobot scout scanned the treetops. "She's heading back for the dealership!"
"Got it!" Yang propelled herself back into the trees. Adam charged, only to get cut off by an Energon blast.
"Not in the mood Ragey McGrimmface," Bumblebee taunted.
Adam replied with a scream of rage as he threw himself at the Autobot, his gunners raising their weapons to provide cover fire.
.
Blake leapt through the treetops, mentally cursing with every hop, skip, and jump.
What the Hell was that? Blake asked, I don't think that was Atlesian tech, and this disk certainly isn't a bomb! You know what, forget about it, just get to the dealership, hotwire an escape vehicle, and text Adam so he knows where to meet up after shaking off that robocycle and that blond brute. Then we can contact the High Leader and find out what the fu- She was brought out of her internal monologue when a blond brawler collided with her back and knocked her off balance. With cat-like grace, Blake Belladonna stumbled out of the trees, hitting every branch along the way, before painfully landing on her legs. "Ow…" Yang landed between her and the dealership.
"That could've gone better," Yang wheezed as she pushed herself to her feet, "Now if you're done trying to steal something that's no use to you, can I please have that back?"
"Adam wants this," Blake replied as she drew her katana by the ribbon, "And I trust that he has a plan for it!"
"Really?" Yang asked, "Because Adam literally just bragged about how he was only keeping this up to spite me and Bee!"
"LIAR!" Blake dropped the homing beacon and lashed out at Yang. The blond brawler jumped back, so Blake only achieved trimming some hair. Blake had cut her hair. Yang's opponent had DARED to cut her hair. "... Why are you shaking? I didn't even-"
"You're DEAD!" Yang rocketed forward, hair blazing and eyes red.
.
Bumblebee was having a much easier time fighting the White Fang now that most of Adam's underlings had worn themselves out. Even if Adam had blocked a couple of his shots, Bumblebee wasn't giving him a moment's reprieve to use his Distinction.
"You ready to give up?" Bumblebee asked.
"Die," Adam spat as he raised his sword, his body consumed by a demonic glow. Bumblebee rolled his optics.
"You know I can survive that, right?" he asked.
Right as Bumblebee said that, Adam's partner flew through one tree and bounced off a second as her Aura flashed.
"DON'T MESS WITH MY HAIR!" Yang shrieked as she went flying towards the downed fighter. Adam smirked.
"Can she?" he slashed his sword through the air in Yang's direction. Before Adam's sword was even halfway through its arc, Bumblebee launched himself towards Yang and wrapped himself around her to tank the red light.
BANG!
Blake groaned as the world stopped spinning, then shrieked as she was yanked off her feet by her black vest.
"Where's the device?" Adam growled as he twisted the fabric in his hand.
"I- I dropped it on my way to the dealership!" Blake explained, "The human had gotten in my way and I had to-"
"I don't want your excuses!" Adam shrieked as he threw Blake back into the tree with all his strength, "I want that device!"
.
"You okay?" Bumblebee asked as smoke rose and pink liquid oozed from the gash on his back, his Projected Spark Field slowly healing the wound.
"Y-yeah," Yang answered, somewhat shaken by the sudden impact, "What-"
"Adam tried to use his distinction on you while you were distracted," Bumblebee explained as he set Yang down, "Can you walk?"
"I'm a little dizzy, but yeah," Yang answered, "Bumblebee! I left your homing beacon over-" she was interrupted by Adam's roar of rage as the masked monster threw himself at Bumblebee with his sword raised in the air. Bumblebee simply stopped the assault by grabbing Adam's arm and squeezing, before holding his fist to the man's chest.
"I'll kill you!" Adam spat.
"You know, if I deployed my Energon blade right now, you'd probably die in seconds," Bumblebee stated, and Adam stopped struggling as he realized the position he was in, "However-" Bumblebee let go of Adam's arm and fired an Energon blast into his chest, sending him into the trunk of a tree. "I don't have time to scrape you off my blade."
"Adam!" Blake forced herself to her feet to dash over to her leader along with the other White Fang thugs.
"Where did you say my homing beacon was?" Bumblebee asked Yang.
"Don't let them escape!" Adam shouted.
"You know what?" Bumblebee said as he scooped up Yang in his arms ("Hey!"), "Why don't you just point me that way?" Yang pointed in the direction of the dealership, and Bumblebee took off running while firing a few blasts to trip up their pursuers.
"You can turn into a motorcycle!" Yang shouted.
"You aren't wearing a helmet!" Bumblebee argued.
"Really?"
"I'm not about to risk your father's wrath over this!"
As soon as Bumblebee and Yang had picked up the homing beacon, the scout made a mad dash for the side of the road where he'd dropped Yang's helmet and put her down, firing Energon blasts at the White Fang to keep them from getting too close.
"Hurry and put on your helmet!" Bumblebee shouted. Yang rolled her eyes as she strapped on the helmet.
"Oh golly! It's a good thing I'm wearing this helmet!" she stated, "It's not like I can armor my body with my soul or anything!" Bumblebee pushed the homing beacon into Yang's arms and transformed into vehicle mode.
"Stop snarking and hop on!" Yang rolled her eyes as she mounted the talking motorcycle. The duo took off into the road, ready to leave their pursuers in the dust, only to get caught in the headlights of a red SUV.
"Going somewhere, B-127?" the vehicle asked as it slammed into the motorcycle at top speed. Yang's and Bumblebee's Auras both flashed as they stumbled across the road, the homing beacon rolling a few feet away. The SUV then unfolded into a tall, bipedal robot that easily dwarfed Bumblebee.
"Shatter!" Bumblebee shouted as he transformed back into robot mode, "What are you doing here?"
"You are intruding on the property of the Decepticon Empire, traitor!" Shatter answered, before turning to face the gobsmacked Faunus in the woods, "Dropkick, kill the witnesses." A blue and black armored car swerved to a stop and unfolded into a second bipedal machine.
"Finally!" he stated as his right arm shifted into a canon, "I was wondering when I'd get to have some fun!" The White Fang members tried to flee, but the first blast was an electric charge that popped a few like grotesque water balloons. Then came a blast infused with Freeze Dust which froze all but Blake and Adam solid. Those unlucky souls were then shattered by the Gravity Dust infused blast, and a Fire Dust infused blast set the evidence ablaze. Bumblebee leapt at Shatter as he activated his "Stinger", only for Shatter's arm to shift to an Energon pistol and blast him in the chest, causing both his PSF and his Stinger to fizzle out as he painfully hit the ground.
"And there goes your Projected Spark Field," Shatter taunted as she shifted her pistol out for an Energon blade, which she then pressed against the underside of the Autobot's chin, "Looks like you're out of luck."
.
Yang groaned in pain as she tried to push herself to her feet.
"Well would you look at that," Dropkick remarked as he trained his cannon on the human, "Looks like B-127 found himself a new pet."
"Kill it," Shatter ordered, "Then fetch me the homing beacon."
"No…" Bumblebee rasped out as Dropkick vented Gravity Dust into his Energon cannon.
"I just love how you organics pop," the Decepticon remarked, only to notice a black and red figure dashing for the homing beacon, "Hang on, looks like I missed one." He fired his cannon at the figure.
"Don't shoot the homing beacon you imbecile!" Shatter shouted, a second too late.
Blake felt her heart sink as the horrible, metallic things slaughtered her brothers and sisters in arms. She wasn't particularly close to any of them (Adam had insisted that she trust him and only him), but she knew each of their names. And that blue demon had gleefully butchered them without the slightest hint of remorse. Adam had been seething the entire retreat, (He's grieving in his own way, she had convinced herself), only to watch in disbelief as he broke cover to dash for the device they had just been fighting over a few minutes ago.
"Adam," she hissed, "What the Hell are you doing?"
"I'm not leaving without my prize!" Adam snapped back as he picked up the disc. Whatever response Blake had died in her throat when the ground between Adam and the killer machines erupted into broken asphalt, the shockwave shaving leaves from nearby branches and sending Adam flying through the air. His Aura flashed when the explosion went off, and flickered out the second he hit the ground.
"ADAM!" Blake broke cover to rush to his side, pressing two fingers to the side of his neck to feel for a pulse. Thank the gods, he's alive!
Ka-click.
BOOM!
Blake turned to the source of the sound and saw the robot's human accomplice rushing towards them, and the mechanical butcher that had slaughtered her allies stomping after her. Without thinking, Blake poured all of her strength into her Semblance, spiriting Adam and the device away into the shadows, and letting the human latch on to a hollow decoy. Blake fled into the woods, clinging to Adam's barely conscious body, which in turn clung to the device like a lifeline. As for the human...
.
"No!" Yang shouted as Blake, Adam, and the homing beacon dissolved into shadows, completely unaware of the metal fist bearing down on her.
CRACK!
The asphalt beneath Yang shattered as Dropkick's fist punched her into the ground, her Aura flickering out as he pulled his fist back.
"Typical squishy," Dropkick taunted as he readied another punch, "If you don't pop, you go splat!"
"Hold it Dropkick!" Shatter shouted. Dropkick's fist stopped mere inches from Yang's body.
"Oh what now!"
"B-127 had to have checked his homing beacon before we got here, and I learned long ago that he's not one to break under torture," Shatter replied, "Let's keep his pet human alive. For now."
"Oh, I see…" Dropkick chuckled as he grabbed Yang and lifted her up to eye level, her arms pinned to her side by his metal fingers. Yang's red eyes met his hellish glare.
"So, B-127," Shatter began as she pressed the blade against Bumblebee's neck, "Where is the Ark?"
"I don't know," Bumblebee answered, "I didn't have time to check."
"I see," Shatter replied, "Dropkick."
Yang cried out as the blue Decepticon slightly increased the pressure.
"How about now?" Shatter asked.
"I'm telling the truth, I don't know!" Bumblebee insisted.
Dropkick increased the pressure again.
"The more you lie, the more she suffers," Shatter replied.
"She has nothing to do with this!" Bumblebee objected.
"I… Disagree," Shatter refuted as she lifted his chin, "Now, where. Is. The Ark?"
"I don't know!" Bumblebee replied once again, "Please, she's a civilian!"
"Is that so?" Shatter asked, "Dropkick!"
"What?" the other Decepticon asked as Yang struggled to push herself free.
"Tear off one of its arms," Shatter ordered, and Yang froze, "Clearly, B-127 isn't taking this seriously."
"Oh, this is way more fun than popping it," Dropkick chuckled as he tossed his captive into the air. Yang tried to throw a punch to use an explosive round to propel herself away, only for Dropkick to grab her right arm between his left hand's pointer and thumb. She tried to propel an explosive round into Dropkick's optic, and his right hand closed around her body.
"Be sure to do it slowly, now," Shatter ordered, "The longer it screams, the more his guilt will pile on until he has no choice but to admit the truth."
"You had me at 'The longer it screams,'" Dropkick replied as he began to pull. Yang tried to bite down her screams, but Combat School didn't really prepare her for torture. Especially as she felt her arm slowly stretching, every last nerve in the arm crying out in agony. The sheer sadistic glee her tormentor took in her suffering only heightened the fear and panic as she screamed. As such, it probably shouldn't have been surprising when a black shape descended from the sky like an abominable bird of prey. Dropkick yelped and released Yang's arm as the Nevermore latched onto his own and began nipping at his hostage. "Stupid bird!" Dropkick punched the Grimm off his arm, causing it to identify the giant robot as the bigger threat and latch onto his face. "Oh sweet merciful Primus, not again!" he shrieked as he threw Yang into a tree, "I can't die like this!" His right arm shifted back into a canon and fired randomly into the air.
"Dropkick, you're not going to land any hits on the Nevermore like that!" Shatter shouted, before turning to face Bumblebee, "Ngh, I'll just use the Cortical Psychic Pa-" One of Dropkick's rogue blasts hit her dead center, freeing Bumblebee from her blade and allowing him to transform into vehicle mode and ride into the trees.
"Yang! It's time to call a retreat!" he shouted before disappearing.
Shatter growled and pointed her Energon pistol into the woods, only for another Energon blast to strike her in the shoulder.
"PRIMUSDAMMIT DROPKICK!" She shouted as she jabbed an Energon blade into the Nevermore's back, pried it off of her partner, slammed it into the ground, and fired multiple shots at the Grimm until it dissolved.
"Oh good, I'm way too handsome to die like that," Dropkick said as his Projected Spark Field got to work repairing the dents and scratches on his face. Shatter slowly turned to face her partner as the sound of sirens grew louder, no, closer.
"Our window of opportunity has closed," Shatter sighed as she retracted her weapons, "We need to fall back and form a new plan." She transformed into an Atlesian Dropship and flew away.
"Ugh, fine," Dropkick fussed as he transformed into a Bullhead and flew after her.
Yang could hear her heart beating in her ear as she Bumblebee drove her home.
"You okay, Yang?" Bumblebee asked.
"Peachy," Yang squeaked, her right arm still burning from what had almost happened and the rest of her body aching from what did happen. A pair of headlights rounded a corner and Yang felt her heart stop, even as the car skidded to a halt. Bumblebee swerved and was about to speed off in the other direction when the headlights turned off and the driver side door opened.
"Yang?" a familiar voice called.
"DAD!" Yang leapt off Bumblebee and dashed over to her father to pull him into a hug.
"Yang, what's wrong?" Taiyang asked.
"They're here," Yang replied, "The Decepticons are here!"
a/n: Shatter and Dropkick weren't originally going to be a part of this chapter, but I realized this would be the PERFECT way to set up how big of a threat they are. In fact, the entire reason Taiyang mentioned the Nevermore last chapter was to set up it's appearance here. Bumblebee shielding Yang with his body and then shooting Adam was one of the first ideas I had for this chapter, as was Blake cutting Yang's hair.
Now, for review responses.
To 90% of last chapter's reviewers: I hope this satisfied your "Adam gets wrecked" desires.
To MadTitan9: I hope that Adam was enough of an asshole this chapter to get across where my sympathies lie.
