"I don't get it," Ruby said as she pulled her eyes away from the decorated room and looked down at her sister. "Why would they bring all this stuff here?"
"If You're Going To Have A Base, Wouldn't You Want It To Be Comfortable?" Scythle noted as she pushed the door open, stepping out into the room, swiveling her head around to take it all in.
"Okay, so we found their hideout," Blake said as she looked back at the hatch they came in through. "Let's head back to Beacon and let them know what we've found."
"No Way." Scythle said as she laced her fingers together, pushing her hands out to crack her knuckles. "At Least One Of These Punks Knows Something About This Drug Stuff. I'm Getting That Confession Out Of Him."
"Sis, we have no idea how many people are actually here." Ruby pointed out, trying to pull her sister back through the door. "For all we know, there could be an army."
"Well Then, It's A Good Thing We Each Brought Two." Scythle said before flexing her bicep. "Our Left Armies, And Our-"
"I swear I heard something back here." A gruff voice echoed faintly into the room, causing Blake's ears to twitch under her bow as she quickly moved in to cover Scythle's mouth, looking towards the door at the other end of the room.
"Dude, I'm telling you," Another voice said, slowly becoming more and more audible as they approached the door. "You're hearing things. No one knows we're out here."
"They're coming." Blake whispered, causing the sisters' eyes to widen.
"This Way." Scythle whispered back as she rushed over towards the edge looking over numerous tanks.
"Not unless Scorpio here messed up." The gruff voice stated as Ruby and Scythle quickly shimmied over the edge, dropping to the lower level.
"Let's just check to make sure." A third voice said as Blake dropped down, right before the door opened, letting in the scorpion robber, the brute, and a third member with long, pale feathers protruding from her latex covered arms. As Ruby, Scythle, and Blake hid behind one of the tanks, Blake glanced out around it, getting a quick look at her bird-like mask as the three robbers walked onto the catwalk. "Better safe than sorry." The robber they perused finished as they made their way towards the other end of the room. The trio of Huntresses pressed themselves against the metal tank, inching themselves along its edge as they passed over head. As the fake White Fang members passed over them, Blake pushed herself off the tank, gesturing for the sisters to follow her before putting a finger up to her lips.
The sisters nodded before following her as the slim man approached the door, gripping the handle with his clawed hands before throwing it open. His eyes narrowed behind his mask as he looked at the open hatch. "Could have sworn I closed that." He said to himself, causing the Huntresses' eyes to widen as they heard what he said. Stepping into the small room, the robber placed a hand on the hatch and peered down into the dark hole as the brute began glancing around the room. Blake once more pressed herself against a tank as he turned to look over the tanks.
With the loud squealing and clanging of rusted metal, the man with the scorpion tattoo slammed the hatch shut as he turned to face his subordinates. "Javan, Miu, stay on guard," As the brute turned to face his leader, the Huntress trio once more began moving through the tanks, reaching the other side before quickly scanning for a latter. "We may have intruders."
"Told you." The brute stated, giving the feathered woman a hard slap on the back as Blake quickly caught sight of a ladder.
"When the coast is clear, we make a break for that ladder." Blake whispered to the rest of the group.
"Better Idea." Scythle muttered as she pulled out her Scroll, quickly dialing in Blake's number. "Let's Make A Distraction."
"Amethyst, wait." Ruby tried to reason with her sister as Scythle pressed the button. The room was quickly filled with a soft buzzing as the robbers' attention was drawn towards their leader.
"Go, Go." Scythle whispered, pulling her sister along with her as Scorpio reached into his back pocket, pulling out Blake's Scroll. Feeling it vibrate in his hand before he flicked it open as Scythle quickly gripped the ladder.
He snarled at the device before pressing the red button, hanging up on the call before looking back up at his subordinates. "Miu, head back to Gray, and get back here ASAP." Scythle glanced back at the robber, pulling herself over the ledge as he explained his plan to his men. "We might need all hands-on deck here."
"Nice going, Scythle." Blake said in a cross between a whisper and a yell as she and the sisters ducked down behind a set of barrels.
"Relax, It Will Be Fine." Scythle said as the feathered woman, apparently named Miu, flew out the window while Scorpio turned his attention towards Javan. "We Just Need To Make Sure We Stay Out Of Sight-"
~Hey hey, you you!~
~I don't like your girlfriend!~
~no way, no way!~
The group's eyes widened before Scythle reached into her pocket, pulling out her Scroll as its ringtone blared out for the entire room to hear. Ruby glanced over the barrel to see Scorpio holding Blake's still open Scroll, most likely smirking under his mask as he dropped it onto the ground.
"Well, you sure made it easy." He snarled as he flexed his tail around, aiming at the collection of barrels before firing off at them.
Ruby quickly reached behind her as she ducked back down, gripping Crescent Rose as Blake pulled out her blades before the barrels were sent flying. Spinning it around, Ruby began deflecting the bullets coming at her as the thumping and clanging of metal echoed through the room. As Blake folded back her sword and began firing at Scorpio, Javan slid off the catwalk, punching down on the concrete beneath his feet before charging at the group. The group quickly attempted to jump out of the way of his charge as Scythle slid out her pistols, only for her and Ruby's cable to get caught around his throat, dragging them with him as he ran off the edge. Upon landing, Blake looked back at the shooter to find him racing towards her, waving his tail as he attempted to strike at her.
His tail clanked against her sheath as she blocked the strike, while Ruby and Scythle tumbled off the brute, Scythle's pistols cluttering to the floor as he got up. Remembering their last confrontation and how their bullets barely did anything to him, Ruby glanced around the room as Scythle unfolded her staff before Ruby's eyes caught the supports for the tank. Spinning her scythe around, Ruby quickly cut through the metal tubes holding it up as he charged at them, before they quickly dashed back as the tank began to tilt.
Putting up his hand, the metal thumped into his palm as he caught it easily, smirking at the two as Scythle spun her staff around. In a blink, she dashed back towards him, slamming the end of her weapon into his chest, causing a surge of electricity to run through him. With only the slightest twitch, he quickly back handed the pair away from him before lifting the tank up over his head, knocking down walkways as he prepared to throw it.
Overhead, Blake continued to block Scorpio's strikes, and Scorpio continued to block her strikes, creating a series of sparks and clanks before he caught her sword and pulled it down, quickly kicking the girl back. As Blake fell on her back, she yanked on the black ribbon in her hand, pulling her gun's trigger and firing it into his side. He lost his grip on the blade, causing it to fly out of his hand as Blake got up, quickly spinning around as she swung the ribbon. The sword folded around the pistol, turning into its scythe form as he aimed his tail at her. His aim was quickly thrown off as her blade slashed across his chest before Blake yanked it the other way, quickly slashing at him as he tried to block or catch her attacks.
Ruby and Scythle easily got out of the way of the on-coming tank, allowing it to break through the skins of the other tanks before colliding with the wall. With harsh stomps, Javan quickly moved in after them, rounding a corner to see the trail ending abruptly. He cocked an eyebrow behind his mask as he began stomping forwards, peering around the corners created by the tanks as he tried to find the two girls. The sisters, meanwhile, silently shimmied around the tank, glancing over at him before looking between each other.
"He reflects bullets, electricity barely fazes him." Ruby began counting off. "How are we supposed to hurt him?"
Scythle began tapping her curled fist into her chin as her eyes darted around the room. Her eyes quickly landed on the tank's previous location, and she quickly recognized the water jutting out of the pipes before glancing at the tank itself, seeing it leaking water as well. "Flood The Place And Drown Him?" Scythle suggested.
"And how do we do that?" Ruby asked as she peered around the tank, seeing the brute turn a corner around a tank. The red-haired girl then glanced back at her sister's staff, and a smirk spread across her face as an idea quickly formed. "Though it does give me an idea. Follow my lead."
With that, Ruby pulled her sister out of their cover, looking between all the tanks around them as she shifted Crescent Rose into its rifle form. She glanced around the area, seeing Javan's shoulders between all the tanks before looking down at the pipes next to her. She quickly fired off a few shots into them, allowing their water to spill out across the floor before pulling Scythle forward.
"W-What Are You Doing?" Scythle asked as Javan quickly rounded a corner, gritting his teeth as he saw the two before Ruby held up an open hand at him, gesturing for him to bring it on.
Ruby glanced back down at the floor as it became soaked with water, before the thumping of Javan's feet filled the trench as he charged at them. The two girls quickly darted out of the way, allowing the man to slide forwards on the water towards the tank in the wall. He attempted to bury his foot into the ground to stop himself, but it didn't do anything to help him as the horn on his mask broke its way through the metal. He struggled for a moment before pulling himself out, allowing water to spray across him as Ruby and Scythle rounded the corner.
Quickly realizing her sister's plan, Scythle spun her staff around before jabbing the taser into the brute, allowing a surge of electricity to race across him. All his muscles tensed, and he let out a painful scream before the surge of energy died. As his eyes drifted shut under his mask, he began to lean forward, casting his shadow over the two before they darted out of the way again, allowing him to fall to the floor.
"Well, that work-" Ruby began before a figure darted down between them, grabbing the cable with her toes before jumping up, dragging the two with her. The sisters were bashed across one of the few remaining catwalks before they were thrown to the ground, and the winged woman quickly landed. She unfolded her wings like swords at the two before a grey-skinned figure jumped off the wall behind her, landing on black flippers and staring up at them with a frog like mask.
"Oh, Great," Scythle said as she stood up, tightening her grip on her staff. "So The Cavalry Arrives To Save The-" The frog-man quickly lunged at them, opening his palms to strike before the two shuffled back. His hand slapped onto the ground, and as he pulled it up, a small pool of green liquid dripped out from his wrist.
Scorpio backed onto the catwalk as he reflected Blake's attacks, before cutting the railing off with his tail and grabbing the side of Blake's head, throwing the girl down to the lower level. Landing on her stomach, Blake attempted to pull herself up before the robber jumped off after her, and she was barely able to roll out of the way of his blade before it buried itself into the ground. Seizing the opportunity, Blake folded her sword back and began firing at the scorpion, only for him to quickly slash the bullets out of the air as he pulled his tail out, quickly returning fire before running at her. Blake quickly turned around and jumped at the wall, jumping off of it over the robber as his blade scrapped where her feat had once been.
Throwing her weapon up towards the rafters, Blake quickly yanked herself up out of the trench, seeing the situation Ruby and Scythle were in as the other robbers surrounded them. Miu's feathers scratched across Ruby's scythe blade as Scythle deflected jabs from Gray, before Miu spun around and slashed the talons on her feet across Ruby's face, causing her to stumble back into her sister before Gray landed a hit, leaving a green stain in Scythle's shirt. Swinging off the rafter, Blake pulled her weapon in as she swung her sheath at the winged-woman, knocking her away from her leader before firing at the grey-skinned man attacking Scythle.
Ruby looked down at the scratches on her blade before looking up at Miu, who quickly jumped up into the air, giving Ruby a look at the way her feathers shined in the light before she soured towards them. The two quickly jumped out of the way as Scythle ducked under another jab, allowing Miu to get hooked onto the cable between Scythle and her sister and barrel into the grey-skinned man. As Scythle tumbled into a pile with the two robbers, Ruby landed and yanked on their cable, pulling her sister out of the pile as the robbers began picking themselves up.
"Guys, I don't think those wings are real." Ruby said.
"Well Then," Scythle said as she spun around her staff, allowing the tasers to crackle with energy. "I'll Feel No Remorse As I Pluck Her Wings!" The purple girl quickly charged forwards, only to be tackled from the side by Scorpio, dragging Ruby with them before his tail smacked her across the face. The frog-man jumped at Blake, quickly attempting to land a strike at the girl, and she quickly weaved between each one, getting a view of the small needle protruding from his wrist.
Deflecting a jab with her sword, Blake quickly kicked into Gray, only for Miu to jump over him and begin slashing at her, creating sparks as her wings slashed across Blake's sword and sheath, pushing the raven-haired girl back. As Scythle began to pick herself back up, her face was quickly pressed back into the ground by Scorpio as he wrapped his tail around Ruby's neck. Glancing at her sister, Scythle's eye widened as she got a look at the device connected to his tail, feeling an all-to-familiar sense of déjà vu run through her head. This time, however, she knew why, and it filled her with a new sense of rage.
"You…" She growled at the robber on top of her as he brandished his claws.
"We've met?" The man asked as he leaned closer to Scythle as Ruby shifted Crescent Rose back into Rifle mode.
"You Crippled Me!" Scythle yelled as she kicked him off, firing off a round into his chest. As he flew back, Ruby bashed her weapon into his tail, before quickly aiming at the robber and firing a shot of her own into him. As he was thrown back, his tail finally came undone, releasing the red girl and allowing her to breath.
"You're gonna need to be a bit more specific." Scorpio said as he got up, aiming his tail at the purple girl before firing. Scythle quickly got to her feet and began spinning her staff, reflecting the shots as they came as Ruby shifted back, aiming at the villain. "I've hurt a lot of people."
The bang as Crescent Rose fired echoed through the room as Scorpio slashed his tail at the shot, before Scythle growled as she charged him, pressing the tasers of her staff into his throat as she pushed him over the edge, dragging Ruby along with her. Ruby managed to stop on her heel, feeling her arm threaten to come out of its socket as Scythle hung from the cable. With a groan, the robber opened his eyes behind his mask, seeing Scythle attempting to swing her staff at him before smirking. His tail swung out, knocking the staff away as he pushed himself up, slashing across the girl's stomach before jumping up at her, tightening his claws around her jaw.
"If it makes you feel any better," He began as he aimed his tail at her, once again blocking a swing of her staff. "I don't even remember what my last kill looked like."
Pressing her Scythleg against the wall behind her, Scythle fired off a shot, throwing her knee into his stomach and throwing the two up. Ruby stumbled forward as Scythle and the robber came up over the edge, before Scythle gave him a quick jab in the neck and unfolded her Scythleg. Grabbing onto the man's hood, Scythle spun herself around and hooked her blade around his tail, before letting off another shot and throwing herself back towards her sister.
The blade ripped through the tail easily, pulling him along with her before he thumped onto the concrete. Letting out a groan before Scythle jabbed him with her staff, sending a surge of energy through him. Ruby quickly looked over at Blake, seeing her fending off Gray and Miu before pulling Scythle with her. Ruby unfolded her scythe and spun it around, slamming the back of the weapon into the frog-man as Scythle jumped onto Miu's back, pulling the girl to the ground. Gray swung out his arm, and a long cable came out of his wrist before he swung it at the red girl pinning him down. The needle at the end scrapped across her collar, unable to pierce her skin as she stumbled back.
As he got up, turning to face Ruby, Blake quickly wrapped her arms around him, trying to hold him back before he jumped off the ground, throwing them into the corner of the ceiling, slamming the black-haired girl into the wall. As she lost her grip, he quickly jumped off her stomach, throwing himself at the red-haired girl, wrapping his whip around her neck before kicking the scythe out of her hands. Scorpio ran in behind the two, grabbing Scythle's hood and yanking her to the ground. As Scythle was thrown off Miu, Gray grabbed the needle at the end of his whip, ready to jab it into the girl in his grip before Ruby caught his wrist.
As Scythle began to get up, her Scythleg was slashed open by Scorpio, who quickly jabbed at the girl on the ground before she jumped out of the way, inadvertently pulling her sister down to the ground. Scythle attempted to let out a shot at the pavement and throw herself at the robber, only for a hard metal clank to alert her to just how damaged her weapon was as Scorpio ran at her. In a furry of purple petals, Scythle side-stepped his attack, hooking her cable around his neck before running forwards, clothes-lining Scorpio as Blake began picking herself back up, quickly seeing Miu swinging at her. The winged girl slashed her feather-blades across Blake's sword, unable to land a strike as Blake pulled out her weapon's cable before kneeing her in the stomach, quickly wrapping the cable around Miu's neck.
Miu attempted to fight against the huntress-in-training, only to struggle to get out of her grip as Blake mustered her strength and threw her into the wall. As Scorpio hit the ground, Scythle glanced over at her sister to see her pinned to the ground under Gray. The purple girl quickly darted towards the frog-man, clenching her fists before Scorpio tackled her. As Scythle was pushed back, the cable between her and her sister pulled Ruby back up, allowing her to quickly pin Gray to the ground, causing him to lose his grip on his needle, and allowing Ruby to unwrap the whip around her neck. Quickly throwing the frog-man into the wall and knocking him out, Ruby looked back at her sister to see her attempting to land a strike on Scorpio, who easily blocked her attacks before whipping her with the remainder of his tail. In a blur, Scythle quickly jumped off the wall and kneed him in the face, before grabbing him by the throat and tackling him into the railing.
Blake threw Miu to the ground once more, finally knocking her out as Scythle wrapped her hands around the man's throat, grinning down at him as she began tightening her grip. He groaned as air stopped entering his longs, and began clawing at her head as he attempted to swing his tail at her, only for her to bring up her foot and pin it to the railing. His swings grew weaker and weaker as Scythle continued to grin, before Ruby grabbed Scythle's shoulder and yanked her back, giving the robber a quick look to ensure that he was unconscious.
"Hey, No Fair!" Scythle yelled, stomping towards her sister with a scowl. "That Was My Kill!"
"No, Amethyst." Ruby said, giving his sister a stern look as she spoke with a hard voice. "We don't work that way, and you don't do it anymore. From now on, you take your enemies down, not out."
"B-But They…" Scythle stuttered before lifting up her Scythleg, gesturing to the prosthetic with a scowl. "These Guys Took My Leg!"
"That doesn't matter." Ruby said as she put Crescent Rose away.
"Bullshit, It's My Leg!" Scythle yelled. "I Was Just A Kid, Sis! I Think I Deserve A Little Revenge!"
"For the last time, no." Ruby said as she reached for the cuff on her right wrist, fingering the orange button, causing Scythle's eyes to widen. "You know the rules, no more murder."
Scythle was quiet for a moment before letting out a sigh, crossing her arms at her sister as she shook her head. "Fine, Fine, Have It Your Way. But When These Guys Come Back To Be Villains In A Later Story Arc, It's On Your Head."
"Well, it's a step in the right direction, I guess." Ruby sighed as Blake approached the two feuding sisters.
"Didn't you want to interrogate these guys?" Blake asked before Scythle's eyes lit up.
"Oh, Right, That's Why We're Here!" Scythle said, snapping her fingers. "It Took So Long For The Author To Write This Chapter, I Was Beginning To Forget."
The other two girls rolled their eyes at Scythle's remark as Blake unwrapped her ribbon from around Miu's neck, staring down at the winged-woman intensely, waiting to see if the woman was really unconscious. Once Blake was sure she was, she looked back at the two sisters as she re-sheathed her weapons. "I'll go find some rope for these four." Blake said as she brushed past the two, producing metal clicks as she walked across the catwalk.
"Right, We'll-Eh…" Scythle began as she looked between the unconscious robbers. "Figure Out Where To Put Them?" She suggested as Blake left before looking back at her sister with a cocked eyebrow. "Any Ideas On How To Get Bruno Out From The Trench?"
"Eh, let's just throw them all down there." Ruby said as she walked over to Miu, picking the girl up by the armpits as Scythle nodded before turning to grab Gray by the collar. "You have handcuffs, right?" Ruby asked, two which Scythle nodded. "What are they made of, exactly?"
"Uh…" Scythle said as the approached the edge, giving her sister a shrug before she answered, "Metal?"
"Right, forget I-" Ruby said as she looked over the edge, before he eyes widened as she looked down at the unconscious brute drenched in water. Scythle followed her sister's gaze before her eyes widened as well, seeing the pool of murky, gray water surrounding the robber, with pale white skin where there was once grey.
"He's… Not a Faunus?" Ruby asked as Scythle looked down at the unconscious frog-man in her grip. Narrowing her eyes, Scythle took off his mask, revealing smooth pink skin instead of the pasty gray around his neck. Glancing over at the man with the scorpion tattoo, Scythle saw mechanical components hidden within the last segment of his tail, with wires and a metal cable abruptly ended after she severed the rest of it.
"I Don't Think Any Of Them Are." Scythle noted as she dropped the mask to the ground, scowling at the robber by the railing.
