The next week of training was brutal. Blake thought that she had learned a lot from sparring Adam, who was exceptionally skilled and taught Blake much of what she knew about fighting, but Neo had a completely different fighting style. Neo focused more on using her body to maneuver around strikes and parried with her parasol. While this strategy was somewhat similar to Blake's, the Faunus tended to rely solely on her Semblance to dodge attacks, while Neo used her Semblance and her body in tandem. On top of that, Neo had the elasticity of a professional gymnast, and constantly surprised Blake by moving in ways she didn't think were possible. The two sparred countless times throughout the week leading up to Torchwick's meeting, and Neo won every time. The closest Blake had come to winning was towards the end of the week, when she managed to get Neo's Aura low. In that moment, Blake had noticed a brief expression of panic on Neo's face before she recomposed herself and proceeded to end the fight quickly, only using her parasol and fighting from a distance. This seemed like something Blake could take advantage of in a rematch, but she never got Neo's Aura that low again.
Despite losing every bout, Blake felt that she had learned a great deal about how to read her opponents and counter them.
I suppose the benefit of fighting someone with a similar sparring style and Semblance is that you pick up a lot more tricks that you can actually use.
It was finally the morning of Torchwick's highly anticipated meeting. Blake hadn't done any missions for him since she got chastised for not being stealthy enough. She didn't have any real desire to impress Torchwick, but Blake knew that this could possibly be the first opportunity for her to fight criminals, and she owed it to herself to fight to the best of her abilities.
Torchwick had been out of the warehouse a lot in the last week, and after she found out Neo is mute, Blake felt a lot lonelier. She used her free time to read books, which caught Neo's attention, and towards the end of the week Neo started texting with Blake through their Scrolls. The conversations were mostly about book recommendations, but Blake took comfort in actually being able to communicate with someone else other than Torchwick. It also let Blake see a different side of Neo, who was quite expressive in her texts. Whereas before all she really knew about Neo was her confidence and possible sadism, now she was seeing a much warmer and playful side of her.
Blake was steeping some tea in a kitchenette in the corner of the warehouse by herself. Despite being held semi-captive, the warehouse had a lot of amenities that she had trouble getting at her camp that she had been staying at prior. She had made a few requests for different supplies to make her stay a little more comfortable, and Torchwick delivered. The cupboards were stocked with teas and canned tuna just for Blake, and her stay was feeling more like a training regiment than a job.
After a few minutes of silence, Blake heard a door open, and Torchwick and Neo started slowly approaching her from behind. The kitchenette had no walls, so Blake could hear them coming from across the warehouse, even without her cat ears. The two had emerged from an office looking modular room within the building, similar to how a warehouse foreman would exit their office to approach their employees.
There were many rooms that existed within the warehouse, which was separated into two floors by a set of metal stairs on the north side. With the cleanliness and efficient layout of the place, it was almost as if the warehouse was being used by a legitimate business. Roman and Neo both seemed to live within the building, but Blake had never seen either of their bedrooms, having never stepped into one of the enclosed rooms. Blake didn't mind sleeping on the couch on the second floor, but sometimes she wondered where the actual beds were in the place that Roman and Neo sleep in.
Do they sleep together?
One thing that bothered Blake was that, despite living with the two for a week, she knew practically nothing about them. Roman was a master of deflecting, so any attempt to steer a conversation towards his or Neo's past was brushed off. The exact relationship between the two was unclear; they didn't seem to be lovers to Blake, but they spent a lot of time together alone, making a point to keep Blake away from them at times.
"We gotta pick up the pace, Blake" Roman called out, "We've got a meeting here in an hour".
Considering he chastised Blake for her lack of stealth and preparedness, Torchwick didn't have the best plan of attack, at least, not from what he told Blake. According to him, Blake was to remain hidden up on some rafters and only reveal herself 'if things went south'.
For a man who never shuts up he really seemed to skimp on some key details.
Blake could understand Roman wanting to keep her away from the action if possible; she didn't exactly have the best track record. What did worry Blake was how Torchwick thought that himself and Neo could take care of this eminent murderous threat by themselves. This entire event seemed like a recipe for disaster, but Blake wasn't one to ask unwarranted questions, especially to a man who looked like he had a lot on his mind. Her boss had looked lost in thought frequently over the last week, whenever he was around.
Leaning against a truss above the main room, Blake watched Roman and Neo mill about until a door at the warehouse entrance opened. In walked a lone woman with long black hair and a red dress.
Oh no.
It was the same woman who had chased Blake down an alley a week earlier. Unable to do anything but watch, Blake got a little more nervous knowing that this person would probably recognize her. Blake recomposed herself. She was here to try and get this criminal off the streets, but she was prepared to make a getaway if she had too; she wasn't risking her life for this.
"I see you've done everything I have asked of you, Roman." The mystery lady proclaimed as she strutted through the warehouse, gazing upon the aisles of boxes that Blake hadn't looked into as much as she should have at this point.
"I'm a man of my word, Cinder." Torchwick replied, giving Cinder a smirk and a wink, something that seemed to visibly upset Neo, who was standing next to him.
"So, I take it I'm only here to watch you bend the knee and accept my offer?"
"Well… not exactly." Torchwick responded, a hint of worry in his voice.
Cinder's right eye suddenly started to glow with an intense flame. Blake watched in horror as it seemed that the eye was actually engulfed in a raging fire.
What the hell?! Is this a Semblance?
"I thought I made it very clear what the consequence was for anything other than compliance." Cinder had an intimidating tone to her voice now.
"It's just…" Roman said tensely, "I get it. I know where you're coming from with the whole 'destroy Beacon and stick it to The Man' shtick, but I run a small operation and I'm not sure if I'm 'management material', you know?"
Destroy Beacon? What are they talking about?
"Roman, you're being too hard on yourself." Cinder said slyly, "You'd make a great leader. You got great recommendations from past employees, although I must confess some of them might've been under duress."
Cinder had a commanding presence to match her smirk of confidence, and Blake was starting to get goosebumps. This fiery woman looked like she could kill everyone here effortlessly.
What is your plan, Torchwick?
"I noticed your little murder tour. I've been to more funerals this past week than I've had hot meals."
"Then you know that I don't take 'no' for an answer." Cinder declared, closing the gap between herself and Torchwick. "You weren't my first choice for this position as Head of Vale Operations, but I can assure you that many would call it a position to die for. How many of your old drinking buddies must I put in the ground before you realize that you don't have a choice. You and I both know that you would sell yourself out well before you put your life on the line."
Torchwick, who would normally quip back at someone instantly, took an uncharacteristically long pause.
"You know I would've agreed with you on that just last week, but I've had a change of heart. I know you're not one to compromise, but I have a proposition for you;" Roman lifted his cane off the ground and pointed it at Cinder before continuing, "Leave us alone or else we'll let the world know of your little plan."
This has got to be the worst plan I've ever seen
Torchwick's ultimatum didn't sit well with Cinder.
"Oh Roman, so naïve." Cinder dismissed playfully as she conjured a blade into her hand out of thin air.
Conjuring weapons and fiery eyes?
Blake was hesitant to jump down and try to fight her way out of this. She hadn't exactly been winning any fights recently, and Cinder looked tougher than Adam. Blake started scanning the rafters for potential ways out of the building without being noticed, when her Scroll vibrated. Thinking it was a bad time to be checking it, Blake would've ignored it were it not for her glancing down and seeing Torchwick holding his own Scroll behind his back. Assuming it was a message from him, she pulled out her Scroll. Sure enough, there was a message from Torchwick:
'Police on their way, sneak out while you still can.'
This surprised Blake more than Cinder's seemingly boundless power. Torchwick was getting the police involved and letting her leave?
What happened to the plan to fight her? Did he actually have a change of heart?
Nothing seemed to make sense to Blake anymore, but one thing was for certain; Torchwick was in way over his head. Blake knew that Torchwick didn't have a Semblance, and that he wasn't the most skilled fighter, often deferring to Neo's sparring prowess, and facing Cinder in a fight like this meant certain death. It was painfully clear to Blake that leaving the two behind meant leaving them to die in a hopeless fight, and as much as Blake didn't want to admit it to herself, she cared too much about the two of them to let them die like this. She wanted them to go to jail and be punished for their crimes, not brutally murdered for not agreeing to join a plot to attack an Academy. They had fed her, sheltered her, and gave her a purpose when she thought her life was collapsing before her eyes, at the very least she owed them this.
Why do I always have to get myself caught up in these things?
It was a split-second decision, but Blake made the choice to stand by the only people she had left in her life. Jumping down from the rafters and landing on the cold hard warehouse floor, Blake unsheathed Gambol Shroud and took a combat stance beside Torchwick.
"And here I thought you were looking for an excuse to leave." Torchwick laughed, not taking his eyes off of Cinder.
"You're not the only one who's full of surprises today." Blake replied, still trying to justify her own actions in her head.
If Roman's willing to fight Cinder, then there's no reason I shouldn't!
"Oh, I remember you." Cinder said, as if taking a mental note aloud, "It's not often a stranger sees me at my day job and lives to tell about it. Looks like I'll be killing two birds with one stone today."
It seemed like it should've been easy: Blake, Torchwick, and Neo against Cinder. Not many fighters could claim they've won a three on one before, but Cinder showed no sign of fear on her face as she raised her left arm and a ball of fire shot out at the three of them. Roman grabbed his hat and ducked away, but Blake didn't have as fast of a reaction time, and instead tried to brace herself for the impact. Lucky for her Neo threw herself in harm's way and blocked the fireball completely with her parasol, making sure to turn her head towards Blake and give her a wink.
"Just how strong is that thing." Blake accidentally whispered instead of thought, to which Neo responded with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.
But now wasn't the time for banter. Neo quickly spun around and hopped away, and from behind her parasol Blake saw Cinder lunging with her sword in hand. This time Blake wasn't going to let her guard down, and immediately used a shadow clone to jump to Cinder's right. Cinder quickly put her sword into the shadow clone and Blake capitalized on the moment by swinging her weapon at the attacker. Much to Blake's surprise, Cinder's reaction time was quite fast, and she got her hand up to block the strike. Suddenly it felt like Cinder's hand exploded and Blake was blasted backwards from her.
Flying through the air but landing on her feet, Blake felt the heat radiating from Gambol Shroud. Cinder had a powerful Semblance, whatever it was, and if Blake wasn't careful then more than her weapon would be scorching hot.
Torchwick raised his cane once again and shot an explosive Dust projectile at Cinder, who again seemed to block the attack with an intense flame projected from her hand.
If we make her use her Semblance enough, it should drain her Aura!
Blake changed Gambol Shroud into its pistol form and proceeded to shoot Dust at Cinder along with Torchwick, and with them on opposing sides of her, there shouldn't have been a way for her to counter both of them simultaneously.
To stack the odds against Cinder even more in that moment, Neo jumped back into the fray, her parasol closed and being brought down towards Cinder's head, only to shatter on Cinder's blade as the real Neo charged from beside Roman.
Cinder didn't struggle to keep up however, and used one hand to block Blake's shots, and used her other to bring a sword up to meet Neo, blocking her strike, all while moving her head out of the way of Torchwick's Dust shot.
It seemed almost like a ballet to Cinder, who effortlessly blocked shots and dodged attacks as if the world around her was moving in slow motion. She grabbed Neo's parasol with her free hand and then pulled it towards her. Neo, still gripping her weapon, was pulled right into Cinder's other hand, which had dropped her weapon and now contained a flame, which she blasted into Neo's stomach from point blank, sending her flipping through the air backwards past Torchwick.
"Neo!" Torchwick cried out, turning around to make sure Neo was ok, before he took an explosive fireball to the shoulder himself, flooring him.
Blake, now with Cinder's full attention, put Gambol shroud back into dagger form and slowly approached Cinder.
"What's the matter?" Cinder said playfully, "Never seen power like this before?"
Opting not to reply to Cinder's rhetorical question, Blake sent a shadow clone of herself towards her, but before she could plan her strike, a giant wall of flame came careening towards her, destroying her Shadow and forcing her to jump backwards. After performing an elegant backflip in the air, she landed on her feet once again, only for Cinder to charge at her with another sword in her hand.
Blocking Cinder's sword, Blake finally got a close look at the weapon Cinder used to fight. It was translucent and hard, but Blake could tell it was light weight, almost as if it were made of glass. Knowing a fire attack was imminent, Blake immediately put a shadow clone in her place and flipped over Cinder, putting Gambol Shroud back into pistol form and grabbing the ribbon. Her shadow was blasted again, but this time she was ready to attack again, swinging gambol Shroud from the ribbon and utilizing the momentum to swing it at Cinder from multiple angles quickly. Cinder blocked most of the quick successive strikes, but Blake could tell upon landing that she had landed a hit or two on her.
Then Blake's cat ears picked up a sound behind her. She could tell it was Roman, and she knew exactly what he was about to do based solely on the sound. Putting another shadow clone in her place, Blake threw herself out of the way of an incoming Dust explosion that hit an unexpecting Cinder still recoiling from Blake's strike. Jumping backwards, Blake landed next to Torchwick, who was standing next to Neo.
"You've got good intuition, kid." Torchwick said with some annoyance in his voice that seemed directed at Cinder, as his eyes remained on her, "Now let's kick her ass."
Roman started strutting towards Cinder, while Blake and Neo sprinted at her, crossing each other as they approached the villain. Weapons at the ready, Blake went high and Neo went low. Blake took both parts of Gambol Shroud and swung them in a crossing formation so Cinder couldn't block her. Meanwhile, Neo stuck her parasol between Cinder's legs and opened it, propelling her upwards. Cinder blocked Blake's strike, but got tossed upwards by Neo, only to get blasted in the air by Torchwick.
Cinder started to fall back towards the ground, arm ablaze, aiming directly at Blake and Neo who were below her. When she struck the ground, she punched it, which created an explosion that shattered Neo's illusion and destroyed Blake's shadow clone, revealing the two were actually on either side of her.
Seeming to have had enough of being hit, Cinder immediately launched herself at Roman, tackling him and throwing the two of them out of the way of Blake and Neo. The two recovered and started swinging violently at each other. Torchwick seemed to be able to keep up with Cinder with his cane, but after a short few seconds Cinder grabbed Torchwick's weapon and pulled it away from him, digging her high heel into his chest and kicking him backwards again, ripping the cane from his arms. While Torchwick was flying through the air, Cinder shot a ball of fire at him, hitting him mid flight as if she was skeet shooting, breaking his Aura.
Neo and Blake sprinted towards Torchwick, who was lying on his back defeated, but Cinder was much faster, quickly getting to and standing over him, sword in hand. Seeing Cinder point her sword at Torchwick's throat made Blake stop in her tracks, but Neo kept running towards her.
Cinder looked Neo dead in the eyes and calmly said, "It's a shame your love for him isn't an illusion," before driving her sword straight down into Torchwick's chest. The man let out a large gasp for air as blood spewed out of his chest cavity like a fountain, eyes wide open from shock.
The sound of metal carving through flesh sent a shiver down Blake's spine. The fact that Cinder had no remorse in her eyes as she stabbed another human being brought back bad memories of Adam. Blake felt helpless, her mind racing too much for her to be able to figure out what to do next. She took responsibility for letting this happen; she had failed her boss. She stood paralyzed from fear, watching Neo try to do what Blake couldn't.
All that time spent thinking and meditating and figuring out how I would move forward and correct my mistakes, and this is what I have to show for it?
Neo threw herself at Cinder, fighting desperately to push her as far away from Torchwick as possible. Cinder obliged, jumping backwards and going toe to toe with the mute, leaving Blake and Torchwick alone. Blake, finally coming to her senses, rushed to the criminal's aid. He was still breathing and conscious, but he was in distress.
"Roman!" Blake cried out as she finally got to him, kneeling beside him, "are you okay?"
"Remember that talk we had? About giving up the life of crime?" Torchwick responded, ignoring Blake's question.
"What does that have to do with thi-"
"Did you really think I could walk away so easily?" He continued, beckoning Blake to come closer, "Go help Neo. I made this choice so that she could be saved from this mess."
"No, we're getting you out of here." Blake affirmed. She started to get up and turn towards Cinder, but she turned back and added, "and I didn't mean you should stop being a criminal, I meant that you could do a lot of good in this world if your heart was in the right place."
Blake gave Roman a weak smile as her eyes got a bit damp.
I can't let him die; he can do so much good if he just gets the chance.
Unfortunately for her, the only thing she could do was fight Cinder, who seemed to be entertaining Neo to a fight more so than actually trying to beat her, feigning disinterest while she effortlessly blocked all of Neo's strikes in a battle of life and death. The two stood with weapons clashed, Neo pushing as hard as she could on her parasol while Cinder only pushed back with one hand.
Blake threw Gambol Shroud up at the rafters while holding the ribbon, using the weapon as a sling shot to fire herself into the fray. While she lined up an aerial strike onto Cinder perfectly, just as she was about to land, Cinder, without even looking in Blake's direction, conjured up another sword into her off hand and blocked the attack. Their weapons clashed but despite Blake's advantage of leverage, gravity, and two arms on her weapon instead of one, Cinder was able to throw Blake off of her. Falling onto her back a few dozen feet away, Blake looked back at Cinder to see her kick Neo in the chest, her Aura flickering as she was also knocked back away from their attacker.
Cinder then took her two swords and brought them together, which created a bow out of them. Conjuring an arrow, she pulled the string back and aimed at Blake. Still on her back, Blake tried desperately to throw herself out of the arrow's path, knowing her Aura was getting low and that this attack may be the last that she could endure. Now on her forearms, she looked back at the archer, only to see Neo run at her from behind. The girl was holding her parasol upside-down and swung the hook part of her weapon in between Cinder's bow's limb and its string. Pulling down hard, the bow was suddenly facing straight down, with the arrow being launched into the concrete at Cinder's feet. For the first time, Blake saw Cinder had a surprised expression on her face, as the arrow lit the ground beneath her before immediately exploding, sending her and Neo in opposing directions.
Blake immediately made her way over to the girl, who was sprawled out next to one of the warehouse shelves, which were in surprisingly good condition considering the fight going on around them. Neo, however, was not fairing as well. Blake went to help her up, but Neo shoved her away violently, holding a hand up to her and looking away as if she didn't want to be seen.
Just as Neo's Aura began to break, something strange happened. Her outfit started to change, and now instead of the fashionable garments she had been wearing this whole time, she was wearing much simpler clothes. Now she was dressed in a plain white and green dress that was torn and tattered; something that a farm girl would wear. Her hair, once a mix of pink and brown with a hint of white, was now just brown and unkempt. She looked up at Blake softly, revealing her eyes to be the same colour as Torchwick's; green. Even her weapon's appearance changed, with the canopy actually being solid metal.
I knew that thing felt heavier than it should have!
With her once immaculate appearance ruined, Neo seemed a lot less confident. She could've gotten up, but instead she stayed on the ground, looking down, tears falling from her eyes. Seeing her sitting in a slump on the ground made Blake sad, as it reminded her of herself when she was deciding to leave the White Fang. Kneeling down beside the devastated girl, Blake put a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, I'm not leaving you. We can beat her." Blake whispered warmly into Neo's ear.
Neo turned to Blake and hugged her, burying her face into Blake's shoulder. The Faunus could feel her clothes dampen from Neo's tears, but she knew she had something more important to worry about. Turning her head, she saw that Cinder had recovered and was slowly approaching them, holding another ball of fire in her hand.
"Now, which one of you wants to die first?" She asked, smiling.
The two sat together in their embrace, seemingly accepting their fate. Neo didn't even acknowledge Cinder as she sat waiting to die. Blake had other plans though, sending a shadow clone at Cinder while she quickly put Neo into a pack-strap carry position and picked her up, carrying her towards the warehouse shelves. Giving their stark height difference, carrying Neo was easy for Blake and it felt more like she was giving her a piggyback ride than getting her to safety. Just as she turned the corner of the warehouse aisle, Cinder incinerated the illusion. Blake knew she couldn't use her Semblance much more before her Aura ran out, but she couldn't seem to find a place to hide from the fiery villain. All of the shelves were packed quite efficiently, and there were no gaps large enough to squeeze into in an evasion attempt, and even if they could, Torchwick was still lying in the open, periodically coughing as if to let Blake know he was still alive.
Just when she thought there was no hope for any of them to leave alive, a voice boomed throughout the warehouse.
"Everybody freeze! This is the VPD, we have the building surrounded!" the authoritative voice called out from somewhere out of sight.
Shit! He actually called the cops?!
There wasn't much Blake could do at this point, being the only one who could fight. Knowing she'd never see Torchwick again if the police got to him before her, she raced over to where he was lying, Neo still on her back. Seeing Roman seemed to give Neo her strength back, as she pushed off of Blake and ran alongside her.
Paranoid that she was about to get incinerated by Cinder from the shadows, Blake repeatedly checked over her shoulder, but couldn't find the woman. The two got to Torchwick, only to hear the sound of a large metal door being opened at the front of the warehouse. The police were coming in.
Neo frantically pointed at Torchwick's torso, prompting Blake to stand above him. The little lady then beckoned Blake to follow her before grabbing her partner's legs and lifting. The two started to two-person carry the crook, who seemed to be only partly aware of what was going on, murmuring to himself about 'never being taken alive'. With Neo in front steering the trio, they made their way towards the back of the warehouse, Cinder still nowhere to be found.
Blake was led into a side room where Neo put Torchwick down and began moving an inconspicuous bookshelf off the wall. Behind it was a staircase the led downwards, which confused Blake as the floor was concrete and she was sure there was no basement. Nonetheless they pressed onwards down the stairs, closing the entranceway behind them.
The soreness from the fight was starting to set in, and Blake wondered how long she could carry Torchwick before she collapsed herself. She tried not to think about the pain, which helped tremendously as she had a lot to think about in wake of everything that had just happened.
Just last week I wanted to see Roman brought to justice, but here I am helping him evade the authorities, and I didn't even think twice! What is wrong with me?
Blake couldn't stop wondering why she was getting herself all wrapped up in this in the first place. She could have left these people behind many times at this point, but instead she helped this dynamic duo despite them being criminals. But it felt weird to Blake to call these people she had allied with 'criminals' because the more she got to know them, the more she understood that the two were more so victims of circumstance. In a world that was so cold and indifferent to them, they only had each other, and they couldn't be good people even if they wanted to. Roman had just tried to remove himself from a plot to potentially cripple humanity and was stabbed for it. Neo, while not one to back away from violence, certainly wasn't going out looking for it, opting to read books and train on her own in her free time. The two together were the definition of a power couple, spending their days taking back what they felt the world owed them, but now all three of them appeared to be in way over their heads.
This world has created all sorts of reluctant monsters and villains, can people like Torchwick, Neo, and me really make Remnant a better place?
Blake thought she would be becoming a Huntress and working alongside noble warriors to do good, but here she was, saving a criminal from being justly apprehended. Part of her knew she was helping because she saw the good parts of herself in these two. They were misguided like she was, but they knew right from wrong, something that Adam had lost sight of. The Faunus had a realization that she was trying to redeem Neo and Torchwick because it would prove to herself that she could be redeemed.
Even if I'm still a criminal, if there's a plot to destroy Beacon, I have to stop it! Whatever the cost…
With a newfound second wind, Blake pressed on further down the stairs, which lead to a door. Behind the door was a familiar sight and smell; the sewers. The last time Blake was down here was when Torchwick was assisting her jailbreak, yet somehow the stakes seemed to be even higher now. Torchwick's wound was quite large, and only barely being held closed by his jacket, which the maimed man must turned into a makeshift bandage while he was writhing on the ground earlier. Even if he wasn't bleeding profusely at the moment, Blake and Neo had to be careful he didn't get an infection that his Aura wouldn't be able to heal.
Neo's Aura had seemed to start coming back, as her hair started to regain its pink sheen.
Even with her Aura so low, she still uses her Semblance to change her appearance. Why?
With Neo leading the way, Blake didn't have much of a choice but to stare at her. For someone so short, she was setting a quick pace, and Blake almost stumbled a few times. She didn't want to ask Neo to slow down or say anything to her for that matter. She walked with determination and Blake was confident that she didn't want anyone talking to her right now. It also seemed rude to force her into a one-sided conversation, so Blake walked in silence.
There were a lot of questions that Blake had, though. She was curious about where they were going, what Cinder's plot was, and what Neo's plan was, but it's not like she could answer Blake's questions anyways.
After about a half hour of walking, Blake was starting to get gravely concerned. It seemed hard to believe that Torchwick was still alive at this point, let alone able to be saved. The stench coming from the raw sewage wasn't helping Blake's queasy feeling either, as she tried hard to breathe through her mouth to avoid it. Just when Blake thought this predicament was going to become unbearable, though, Neo stopped in front of a metal door on the wall. Neo started kicking the door profusely with her heels, which had materialized along with the rest of her usual outfit. Refusing to set Torchwick down, Neo hammered away at the door, which had a viewing slit that made the whole setup seem quite nefarious. After about eight frustrated kicks, the slit slid open, revealing a pair of eyes that Blake felt like she'd seen before. The eyes looked through the slit, but the person didn't appear to be able to see Neo due to her stature. Visibly livid, Neo hopped up and down to finally get the attention of the person behind the door.
"Oh, it's you!" The person said with concern.
After a few seconds of rattling locks loose, the door opened and standing inside was none other than Uma. Her armour didn't glisten as much in the dark sewers, but she still looked as strong and intimidating as ever. She looked a bit frazzled, her hair was disheveled her breathing sounded a bit strained, as if she had been running recently. Getting a better look at Uma from the side, Blake noticed Blake noticed one of Uma's tattoos was of a Goliath Grimm.
I wonder if she's killed one.
Ignoring Blake's blatant gawking, Uma looked over at Torchwick and her eyes went wide.
"She came for you too?" she asked Neo rhetorically.
"What's going on here?" Blake interjected. There were a lot of things Blake didn't know about the situation, and she felt it was about time she got some answers.
"Don't worry, I can help you and your friends." Uma replied as she beckoned them in, putting a hand on Blake's shoulder.
Blake wanted to say 'They're not my friends' but found herself biting her tongue and moving Torchwick out of the sewers. She didn't have time to think about the semantics of being friends with Roman and Neo, a man's life was on the line.
They brought Torchwick up a flight of stairs and into a dim lit back room. In there was a table which Uma cleared off instantly by throwing everything onto the floor. Torchwick was still breathing as he was set down on the makeshift operating table, but the man was unconscious. Neo held his face in her hands and gave him a somber look. She was clearly stricken with grief, but there was still time to save him if they acted fast. Uma instructed Blake to expose the wound and left the room. Opening Torchwick's jacket, Blake was finally able to see the damage done to the man. Blake had seen some pretty nasty injuries over the years, and this one wasn't actually that bad. Upon inspection, it seemed that part of the cut had been cauterized by Cinder's sword, which must've still been quite hot.
That explains why he hasn't died from blood loss yet.
Blake didn't hear Roman's flesh searing at the time, but they'd need any act of good fortune they could get if they were going to save the man that had saved Blake just over a week ago.
Uma quickly returned to the room with arms full of various bottles that contained medicinal substances. Behind her followed a cart full of medical equipment. Blake couldn't identify half of the things that Uma was carrying, despite having to be patched up a few times after some bad fights.
For an intimidating crime boss, Uma sure seems to know a lot about medicine.
What surprised Blake the most, however, was the cart that seemed to follow the woman. It was a plain cart that didn't look like it had any Dust integrated into it in any way, yet it moved with purpose.
Blake could no longer afford the luxury of pondering her environment however, as Uma took charge of the situation.
"Get over here you two," Uma called out, "we're doing this quick and dirty."