Roughly, there was another kick in her side. She stumbled back a bit and then counterattacked with her own jab.
Sienna and Qrow were visibly exhausted. The battle definitely showed on them. They panted harshly and adorned crippling injuries. Fatigued, Sienna held onto her shoulder to stop the blood from seeping. It was still streaming down her arm and leg, tainting her red.
After swinging his scythe and missing his target, Qrow breathed. "You've seen better days."
Leaping back and almost stumbling, Sienna retorted. "Can't say the same about you."
A loud curse word slammed their ears, which caused them to pause for a moment. Definitely Adam. With dread, Sienna noted the situation. Both her and Adam had been shot. A quick glance to her left told her that Neo wasn't in the best shape, either.
Noticeably, Sienna was anxious. From observing that, Qrow almost smirked. He had her cornered. This fight was his.
Several more times, the Khan leader and pirate clashed. Their movements were slow and muscles were strained, screaming in protest. This fight will come down to endurance. Something the two lacked at the moment.
Sienna was confident she could win normally, but she was losing blood. If only she dodged that gunshot. She had to improvise.
"This is ridiculous!"
"Since you're losing?" Qrow countered before jumping back and lunging at her.
Barely, Sienna dodged and leaped backward to gain some distance.
"Schnee!"
From Sienna's yell, everyone stopped fighting. It was so commanding that it shook them to their cores. Snapping to attention, Weiss lowered her rapier as she slouched a bit. Naturally, Ruby stood by her side as they engaged in death glares.
"Go back home!" Sienna shouted as her tail ominously whipped back and forth. "Can't you see the pain you're causing?!"
From hearing that, Weiss scoffed. "You mean the pain Qrow is causing you?"
That caused Ruby to smirk. This was so obvious. The Khan leader was trying to throw them off their tempo. The Thorns were doing well so far. The overall battle was going according to plan.
Meanwhile, Blake was supporting Yang to help her stand. Her ribs were still bothering her. They only had time to catch their breath because Adam was still writhing on the ground in pain.
"Your presence has ruined everything!" Sienna shouted. "Take a look!"
Heeding her words, Weiss scanned the area. Blake was slashed like she was a bleeding canvas, Yang could hardly stand, Qrow was hanging on by a thread, even Ruby was winded.
At least the four boys were thriving. Sun and his brothers were still holding off reinforcements. It seemed like countless Khans were trying to break in to reach the Thorns.
To reassure her girlfriend, Ruby held her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. In response, Weiss simply nodded at her.
Confidently, Weiss aimed her rapier at the Khan leader. "Say what you want. I'll never go back to him."
Like Sienna had been waiting to hear that, she grinned. It was a daunting grin. One that reminded them of the Cheshire cat.
"Tell him that yourself," Sienna said.
"He's not-"
Weiss paused when she noticed a glimmer of white in front of a dark tree. It was faint and in the distance, but it was there.
None other than Jacques Schnee revealed himself.
"- hereā¦"
Until now, he'd been waiting for this moment. Sienna positioned herself in a way that ensured he wouldn't be caught until she wanted him to be seen.
Weiss only stared. The man wore a poker face, but she knew better. Inside, he was seething. Like a volcano that was begging to erupt. It was only a matter of time before the smoke would rise.
There was only silence as a breeze whipped by. The Thorns stared at him. This was the man that caused their crewmate so much pain. The man that almost made her take her own life.
"Weiss," the Schnee sternly addressed. "You will stop this nonsense immediately."
There was that familiar tone. The tone that formerly sentenced her into helplessness and despair. When loneliness crept up on her, that's the voice that lingered. It made her feel like she was locked in a cage, struggling to break free from the shackles.
Another squeeze kept her grounded. Ruby was here. Ruby was her anchor. That was enough.
With her own poker face, Weiss walked up to him. Her crew watched her every move. Like he expected that, Jacques stood his ground.
When Weiss approached, Jacques smirked. It seemed that obedience was finally drilled into her. His daughter stood in front of him with stern, icy eyes. Colder than his own. Almost like they were defiant.
"You will cease this preposterous teenage rebellion at once," Jacques demanded and grabbed her wrist. From the action, her entire crew almost jumped on him, but restrained themselves. She had to handle this on her own. "We're going back to Atlas."
When he tried to drag her, Weiss yanked away. "No."
Like he was hearing things, Jacques scoffed and his voice lowered. "What?"
"I said no," Weiss repeated firmly.
Clearly, Jacques had never been told 'no' before in his entire life. It looked like he didn't know what to do with himself. He began to sputter before spitting out an angry phrase.
"You wretched little-"
It was time.
Time to strike back.
Abruptly, Jacques raised his hand as it silhouetted against the sun. Before, Weiss would have taken the hit. But this was now. And now she had a crew to depend on.
Before his fist could connect with her face, Weiss grabbed his arm during mid-swing. With great force, she held onto him and simultaneously pivoted on her heel. When he was behind her, she slammed one of his knees to buckle.
With a war cry, Weiss swung him over her back. Jacques was stunned and before he knew it, he was airborne. He plopped to the ground like a sack of potatoes as the oxygen in his lungs fleeted from him.
Dead silence. Aside from his desperate breaths.
Confidently, Weiss leered over him. Needless to say, it was satisfying to see him like that.
"Hell yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about!" Yang cheered and then coughed a few times. "I taught her that one!"
Blake lightly chided her as she kept an arm wrapped around her waist. "Don't speak so much. You're really hurt."
At last, Adam gained his bearings. Slowly, he stood and scowled at the bumblebee couple.
"Do you ever shut up?"
"I could say the same about you," Yang huffed.
By now, Yang could move more. Initially, she was stunned from such a menacing kick to the ribs.
Since the blonde was more vulnerable, Blake was there to keep Adam off her. Although she wasn't sure how much longer she could hold out.
With a grunt, Adam clashed against Blake's katana.
Across the battlefield, Weiss glared down at her father.
"Don't be such a baby," she said, taking his earlier words that stung and thrown them right back at him. "You're unsightly."
It was like his daughter was a different person. She'd never outright defied him. Much less return the physical force. When he was able, Jacques hastily stood. A cloud of dirt stained his white outfit and hair.
Suddenly, Ruby yelped. It looked like Neo tried to attack her while Weiss was distracted with her father.
"Take cover," Weiss said before sprinting to help her girlfriend.
Even though she didn't like her father much, she'd rather he didn't get hurt in the midst of battle.
"You have to protect me!" Jacques yelled after her.
She definitely heard that, but chose to ignore him. In a rush, Jacques cowered behind a tree that was near Sage, who was fighting off more Khans.
To spite her father, Weiss utilized ice dust. This effectively trapped Neo to the ground. Just in time, otherwise poor Ruby wouldn't have dodged the sharp end of her umbrella.
"Thanks, Weiss!"
In rapid succession, Weiss jabbed the right-hand. During the attack, there was another gunshot. Hastily, she leaped back and noticed it was fired by Adam, who directed his gun at her father.
Of course Adam wanted the head Schnee dead. Now that he had a clear shot, he'd be a fool not to take it. This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to kill the racist that made all faunus lives even more difficult.
The bullet would have torn through Jacques, but Weiss veered him out of the way with her glyphs just in time. The deadly bullet whizzed past him and nailed the tree trunk behind him.
Astounded, Jacques yelled. "You almost killed me, you beast!"
"Next one will!" Adam roared in vehemence, only to receive a steel-like punch in the face.
"Agh!"
The fragile yelp came from Ruby, who tumbled back. She fell to the ground in a heap as she clutched her shoulder. When Weiss knelt to check on her, she noticed her red cape was a darker shade of red.
"Ruby, are you okay?"
"My shoulder," Ruby grimaced as sweat coated her face. Her hand was coated in blood when she pulled away. "She stabbed pretty deep."
"I'm sorry," Weiss apologized as she pressed down on the wound, which caused another grimace. "If I didn't get distracted-"
"Don't blame yourself," Ruby hissed in pain as she put more pressure on the wound. "Hold off Neo. I need a second."
There was so much blood.
"I'll cover you," after pecking her cheek, Weiss stood. "Focus on healing."
That is, if Ruby had any aura left to heal herself.
At last! There's the title drop!
Stay dandy,
~Toto
