Blake's hands felt warm as they were engulfed in a pool of blood. She was applying pressure to Torchwick's wound, which was the only thing she felt that she could do to help. Neo was cleaning the affected area, which was mainly a large laceration down the man's chest. Uma had been working tirelessly to subdue him and get him stitched back together. The process was long and tiresome, but if they could stabilize him his Aura would be able to take care of the rest.
At least Torchwick's been quiet for more than a few minutes. That's a first.
"Hey Blake." Uma asked without looking up from the patient.
"What is it?" She responded.
"Neo and I should be able to get the wound patched up, but I'm going to need a few things to keep it from reopening before his Aura can kick in. There's a list of things on my desk along with some Lien, could you go to the drug store and get them?"
"Yeah sure." Blake replied hesitantly, not really knowing how to get outside, let alone where the nearest drug store was.
Blake was going to ask Uma for directions, but Uma looked quite focused on the task in front of her, so Blake decided that she could probably figure this one out on her own.
I mean it's just a quick run to the store, how hard could it be?
Removing her plastic gloves, Blake found the list and Lien and made her way out towards the only door in the room she hadn't used. Assuming it was the way to the surface, Blake opened it and found a staircase at the end of a long hall. Not wanting to snoop around, the girl hastily made her way up the stairs and found a door that looked like it led to the exterior of the building she was in. opening the metal door, Blake was now in an alley.
Blake was in a more bustling part of Vale than she was when Roman had tasked her with delivering that package to Uma, and she actually recognized where she was; The nearest drug store would only be a couple of minutes away.
As she walked to the store, Blake again had time to reflect about the situation she was in. It seemed like she was finally getting her wish as there were evil forces that needed to be stopped. Blake knew she had to stop Beacon from getting destroyed, but the question on her mind was who she should tell about this? Cinder already knew about herself, Torchwick and Neo, and would probably do whatever it takes to silence them.
I wish I could tell the police, but they'd probably just arrest me and not believe a word I said. Who else can I trust in Vale?
There was no sense in telling anyone from the White Fang about the plot; they'd be indifferent to it. Blake needed someone respected who would listen to her and help fight back. The one place Blake turned to was Beacon Academy. Surely there must be someone there who could help her? After all, she was still trying to get in, if only she could get the police to allow her to attend. Telling someone else about Cinder was a top priority for Blake, but first she had to save Torchwick. The man seemed on board to take down Cinder and that's all Blake needed to finally justify helping him. Hopeful of the opportunity to prove herself as a righteous person, yet fearful of the inevitable fight to come, Blake pressed on through the commercial district of Vale. It was a nice, quiet night in Vale, so the Faunus let herself enjoy the walk for once instead of being paranoid.
Finding everything on the list proved easy for Blake, as she walked out of the store with her backpack filled to the brim with whatever Uma had requested. Blake had no idea how the woman was going to use everything, as many of the items were random chemicals that Blake had never seen before. She decided to take the rooftops back to the hideout as opposed to walking on the street as she did to get her to the store; She had a feeling something wasn't right. Blake's suspicious feeling refused to go away, and she figured she couldn't be too safe as she jumped onto the rooftops once again. From this vantage point she should be able to see anyone following her.
As the Faunus approached the hideout, a rustling sound made her cat ears twitch. Her ears allowed her to identify and categorize sounds much more meticulously than the average person, leading her to the realization that she had heard this sound before. Much like when a person living in a house with others may learn to identify who's walking through adjacent rooms and hallways solely based on the sound of their housemates' footsteps, Blake could usually tell who was walking near her after hearing their ambient noises or footsteps only once or twice. This sound was near identical to the sound she heard just before she was ambushed on the day of her entrance exam.
The person who attacked me!
Blake had to act fast as this person obviously had ill intentions for her. Rather than reach for Gambol Shroud and let her assailant know that she knew about them, Blake pivoted on her toes and turned around without warning. Stood before her on the ledge of the building she was on was a hooded figure. The person was completely cloaked in black robes, with shadows covering their face, despite Blake's best efforts to see through it with her night vision.
Suddenly Blake felt her breathing become irregular. She was gasping for air, her legs started to shake, and her arms froze as she was moving them to grab her weapon.
Am I having a panic attack?! At a time like this?!
The entire situation felt off. It wasn't like Blake to become so fear stricken at such an imperative moment. Still looking at the cloaked figure, Blake could make out a faint blue glow coming from under the robes, as if some energy was being emitted.
"Is that a… Semblance?" Blake asked weakly.
The statement itself seemed to cause the figure to spring forward at Blake and double front kick her in the chest, sending Blake backwards. Still too tense to devise a recovery to the hit, Blake flew over the ledge of the building and hit her back against the brick wall of the adjacent one. With a loud cracking sound, she stopped sailing through the air and proceeded to fall between the gap between the two buildings. Finally coming to her senses, she wielded Gambol Shroud and dug the blade into the wall to slow her fall.
Now in an alleyway, the Faunus removed her backpack, checking the contents of it for any broken items that would have caused the cracking sound when she slammed into the wall. Her query was almost immediately answered as she pulled out the item in her bag that mattered most, the signal jammer. The device's casing had been shattered and there were wires sticking out of it from a multitude of angles.
That's not good.
As if the situation wasn't bad enough, at that moment a light on her ankle bracelet started to flash, as well as a sound that started to emit from the device. It seemed as though her location was being broadcasted unhindered to the police, and Blake had barely finished stuffing everything back into her backpack before she heard the sound of sirens coming from the street at the end of the alley. Blake looked upwards, expecting to see the hooded figure watching her, but no one was there.
"VPD, put your hands in the air!" A man exclaimed from the end of the alley, a flashlight now shining on Blake.
It must be so frustrating to be a police officer; always having to give the criminals a head start.
Blake threw the pistol of Gambol Shroud down the opposing end of the alley whilst gripping the ribbon. Using the ribbon to shoot the pistol, Blake manoeuvred her weapon so that it wrapped itself around a supporting beam for a fire escape of a building at the alley intersection, and with a strong tug, Blake flung herself away from the officer and around the corner of the alleyway, leaving the man speechless at the speed at which the criminal had removed herself from his sights.
With shouting and footsteps coming from far away, Blake sprinted down the empty alley, planning her next move. She knew that any escape was only temporary now that the police had her location, and it seemed that they were committed to capturing her as quickly as possible. The Faunus needed time to think, but she'd have to multitask as she heard sirens coming from the street at the end of the alley she was running towards.
Not wanting to have to deal with the immense amount of police vehicles that seemed to be encapsulating her, Blake again used Gambol Shroud to propel herself upwards, and back onto the rooftops. She didn't have much of a plan other than to outrun the police, and she searched for a good path across the rooftop just as frantically as she searched her mind for a solution to her predicament. The best way for Blake to avoid getting backed into a corner was for her to keep moving, so she leapt from building to building as she travelled away from Uma's hideout; She would have to lose the cops before she could go back. Remembering Uma and the critical situation she was in, Blake pulled out her Scroll and sent a message to Neo:
'Signal jammer broke. On the run from VPD. Need help!'
Blake thought about using some kind of code to text Neo in case her Scroll was being tracked, but she was strapped for time and she wasn't exactly giving the police any new information anyways, so she hit 'send' without a second thought. She would quickly come to appreciate her lack of hesitation as a Bullhead shone a spotlight on her seconds later as the large aerial vehicle entered the area. The Bullhead caused strong gusts of wind to hit Blake's face, and the crisp air of the cool night became all the more abrasive against her skin. That, combined with the blinding spotlight on her, made it difficult for the Faunus to see properly.
Deciding to take a leap of faith, Blake jumped off the building and slid down the side of it and onto the sidewalk of a side street. The angle the Bullhead made with the building meant that the spotlight was off of her for a brief second, allowing Blake the opportunity to plan out her path. Taking off into a sprint, she made it only a few steps before the light was back on her, and a shot of Dust careened past her onto the sidewalk to her right.
There's a sniper in the Bullhead!
Standing still was no longer an option. Blake knew that her Aura still hadn't fully recovered from her fight with Cinder less than a few hours ago, so she had to be careful and not get into any unnecessary confrontations. Blake rounded the corner into the nearest alley, knowing the Bullhead and sniper would have trouble getting to her in between the buildings. The VPD, however, seemed to be one step ahead, and had a blockade setup in the back alley, with two armed guards and a police van blocking the way. There was no way Blake was turning around though, so she sent a shadow clone of herself down the alley while she threw Gambol Shroud like a top rope anchor, having it catch on another fire escape just behind the van. Using the ribbon to pull and balance herself, Blake ran along the brick wall of the alley far above where her clone was running.
Much to the Faunus' surprise, the police officers immediately opened fire on her clone and destroyed it without a moment's hesitation. Knowing she only had a fraction of a second left before they saw her, Blake mustered an immense amount of strength from her muscles and both pulled herself with her arms and kicked off the wall with her legs, catapulting her at an incredible speed over top of the blockade, just as they had seen her. Blake, now safely on the other side of the van, used it against the police as they now had to shuffle past it to get a line of sight on her again.
Just then it dawned on Blake how she could get away. She needed to get underground. The signal that they were using to track her was a radio signal that was sent and received by the CCTS. This signal attenuates as it attempts to propagate through materials such as concrete and metal, making communication between above ground towers and underground devices nearly impossible without dedicated underground signal boosters, which Vale's sewer system didn't have. If Blake could get underground, her ankle bracelet would lose reception to the network the VPD was using, and they'd be unable to track her. She also wouldn't be able to use her Scroll, but it was the only sure-fire way to get out of the watchful eye of the law.
Despite this new plan, Blake still had to find a way to get underground, and the only entrance she knew of in the area was via one of the many manholes in the streets.
I'm going to have to do this quickly.
Running full tilt down the alley, Blake could feel the walls closing in around her. Having to run out into the middle of the street was hard enough, but she'd have to remove a manhole cover and slide into the hole all in one motion if she was going to have a chance at getting away unscathed. Blake knew this was her best option, and that she would likely only get one shot at it. Her legs were getting tired, meaning she wouldn't be able to outrun the police for too much longer. Not wanting to risk it all on a huge gamble, Blake wanted to run from the alley on one side of the street to other, to scope out the street and plan the path she would take for a moment before the sniper caught up to her. She continued running straight, anticipating the intersection the alley made with the road up ahead. With any luck, she'd quickly spot a manhole cover that she could try to pry open before getting blasted away by the VPD. Breaking through the gap between the buildings and onto the city street, Blake quickly panned around and spotted a suitable target. Less than a block down the road was a manhole cover that Blake could use to escape! The only problem was that directly above it hovered the Bullhead with sniper still in tow. It seemed that she wouldn't be able to go with her original plan, as the sniper fired his first shot at Blake, just barely missing her head and creating a small crater in the street next to her. It appeared that the sniper had explosive Dust ammunition.
The explosive ammunition gave Blake an idea, and she pivoted and ran straight towards the Bullhead. She'd have to time her Semblance perfectly, but if she pulled this off, she'd surely escape the authorities. Blake sent out her shadow clone ahead of her and dropped into a slide. The sniper, whom Blake knew was aiming for her head, took his second shot. The shot itself was a testament to the gunman's abilities, as the Bullhead was moving backwards as Blake moved toward it. It was also a shot taken at a sharp angle, heading almost straight into the ground. The gunman was fooled, however, and the shot went through the skull of the shadow clone and, due to Blake's impeccable timing, flew straight through one of the holes on the manhole cover. The Dust immediately exploded as it hit the ladder underneath the ground that the cover was protecting. With a loud 'Boom' sound, the manhole cover exploded out of the ground and through the air, just in time for Blake to slide into the newly created hole in the ground.
The walls were grimy, and the air was moist with a horrid stench as Blake slid down the wall and into the tunnel beneath the streets. As successful as her plan was, it seemed Blake wasn't off the hook yet, as there were the sounds of footsteps echoing throughout the sewers.
They were ready for me!
The device on her ankle was still making noise and flashing, even though Blake assumed the signal wouldn't be able to be tracked at this point, so stealth wasn't exactly an option. Rounding the corner ready to knock out some police officers, Blake was surprised to see she had already been beaten to the punch, as there were two bodies leaned up against the sewer wall. Thankful that she didn't have to risk fighting with her dangerously low Aura levels, the Faunus took a small step backwards as she attempted to double back and go the other way, only for the back of her neck to touch steel. Someone was pointing a gun at her point blank and by the looks of things it was likely the same person who dispatched the law enforcement so easily.
Fighting was impossible at this point. One shot would break Blake's Aura and even if she used her Semblance, she'd have to risk getting shot point blank in the head; surrendering was the safest option at this point. Putting her hands up and dropping Gambol Shroud, Blake prepared for the worst. The silence was deafening, and the Faunus was half expecting to get executed right there. Her mind was racing. She knew this day would come, but a part of her had always thought she was destined to bring about a positive change in Remnant. All the mistakes she had made in her life flashed before her, and tears started to form in Blake's eyes. Her throat contracted spasmodically as she sobbed in what she believed to be her final moments.
Suddenly the gun made a ting sound as it was thrown to the ground, discarded. Blake glanced to her left to see Neo circle around her with a mischievous face that turned baffled when she saw how distraught the Faunus was.
"I thought you were about to kill me!" Blake said defensively, still shaken by the experience.
It's not like there's anyone I know who would get more joy out of killing me than Neo.
Neo rolled her multicoloured eyes and crouched down to pick up Gambol Shroud, returning it to Blake's shaking hands. Her hand lingered on Blake's, and in an instant, she gripped the Faunus' hand tightly and led her through the labyrinth that was Vale's sewer system.
The lack of police pursuing her confirmed Blake's theory that she could move freely throughout the sewers without worry. It felt good to finally have a plan that actually panned out in her favour for once. The only problem with this was that she would have to go above ground at some point, and as Blake and Neo approached their destination, the Faunus grew more and more worrisome.
I just can't think of a way to get this ankle bracelet off of me before I get hunted down!
Arriving at the site of Uma's operation, Neo walked through the entrance without a second thought, but Blake stopped at the door. She knew that there was a possibility that her tracker would reactivate the second she walked into the building, and she couldn't risk leading the police straight to the four of them. Her moment of hesitation left her in an awkward situation though as Neo was gone from her sight by the time the Faunus called out to her.
Being alone caused panic to overcome Blake.
How long do I wait here? What if the police find me down here? Will I have to live in the sewers until I can get this off of me? Is there another signal jammer around that I can use? Can the broken one in my bag be fixed?
These questions gnawed at Blake's sanity, causing her to pace up and down the walkway. A five-minute eternity later, a man walked out of the door and approached Blake. She recognized him immediately from the coveralls; it was the man from the electronics store!
"Let's see that ankle of yours." He said, setting down a toolbox on the ground and taking a knee in front of Blake.
"Hold on," she responded, her nervousness holding out against a sudden wave of relief, "don't I owe you a lot of Lien for this?"
"Your friend seems to be covering for you." The man declared, still having yet to look Blake in the eye. The man took a screwdriver and a soldering iron out of his toolbox and started prodding at the bracelet, having already zoned out of any potential conversation Blake may have wanted to have with him.
I wonder if Torchwick or Uma is paying for this? Either way I bet I'll be returning the favour to them for a long time.
Before long the bracelet had been popped off with a convincing 'snap'as the hinge was pried open. Without saying another word, the man in the coveralls packed up his tools and walked back through the door to Uma's building, leaving the tracker on the ground in front of Blake. Not wanting to bother with it anymore, the Faunus kicked the cause of her woes into the nearest pile of sewage. With a new sense of confidence, Blake walked into the room where Torchwick was lying down.
"Thanks for getting those supplies." Uma said softly, sitting on the operating table that Torchwick was on last time Blake was there. "It'll make his recovery much easier." She continued, motioning to a bed in the room where Torchwick was lying down.
There were a hundred questions Blake wanted to ask Uma right now, but the one that snuck its way onto Blake's tongue was, "What did Cinder do to you?"
Blake knew that Uma was at the head of some gang that semi-rivaled Torchwick's, so to see her so fixated on tending to the man was strange enough as is. That, and Blake hadn't seen a single person from Uma's posse this whole time made her earlier statement about being attacked by Cinder all the more ominous.
"She basically wiped my crew out." Uma responded coldly, avoiding eye contact, "I may very well be the only one from my group alive at this point. She burned one of my warehouses to the ground with everyone I trusted inside, and all I could do was watch." The warrior seemed to be tensing every muscle in her toned arms. "I have to kill her, or my comrades' deaths will have been in vain."
Okay that just made things more ominous.
It didn't seem like Uma wanted to go into any further details about what Cinder had done, but for now it looked like she was helping Torchwick more so because helping him would mean more people on her side to fight back against the villain.
"Well at least you finally came to your senses and realized that the path to your deepest desires was through me after all!" A weaker than normal sounding Torchwick was already quipping from the cot he was resting on in the corner of the room.
"Good to have you back, Roman." Uma said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Her face was still glistening with sweat, presumably from the hard work she put into tending Torchwick's wounds.
"You and I both know you couldn't live without me" Torchwick responded, propping himself up with his elbows as he laid on his back, redirecting his attention to the other girl in the room, "Well Blake, you gonna thank me for saving you from a lifetime of servitude? Or do I have to shake a can of treats in front of you to get your attention?"
"Oh" Blake replied immediately, too flustered to be offended by Torchwick's blatant racism, "Thanks. I thought it cost 50000 Lien, did you want me to pay you back for it?"
Blake didn't really know what to say. She felt somewhat vulnerable when talking about finances. Even though she could always ask her parents for help, she wanted to be independent, so being in this position made the Faunus uncomfortable.
"Well as much as I hate to admit it, you did save my life. So, lets call it even." Torchwick exclaimed, lying back down and staring at the ceiling.
Neo re-entered the room holding a tray with various things that Blake got from the drug store on it. Laying the tray on the table next to Torchwick, the girl began spooning medicine into the villain's mouth.
"You're a miracle worker, Uma." Torchwick exclaimed as he gulped down different doses from different bottles.
"The only miracle I can't perform is making you learn when to shut your mouth." Uma replied without missing a beat.
Blake caught herself snickering at that remark, bringing the attention of the room back to her. With Torchwick and Uma both looking at her, she figured this was the best time to ask.
"So, what's the plan for taking down Cinder?" Blake asked the room.
"Well" Torchwick started, "You, me, and Neo couldn't take her, so I doubt adding Uma will tip the odds in our favour."
"We need more resources. We need to fight her on our terms." Uma agreed.
"Does she work alone? Maybe we could learn more about her or her operation?" Blake suggested.
"I've heard there may be a couple of people that work close to her, but I haven't seen any of them" Uma said, eyes cold and distant, "I also saw her meeting with a couple of White Fang members, you know anything about that?"
"I saw her talking with a member not too long ago, but I never saw her when I was still with the White Fang."
Blake was confused. She hadn't left the White Fang that long ago, but it seemed strange that they'd be working with a human like Cinder.
What are you planning Adam?
"We still don't have what it takes to go after her." Torchwick chimed in, interrupting Blake's chain of thought, "We're a discount Huntsman team, and I don't think an actual one could even take her down with the powers she has."
Hearing Torchwick say 'Huntsman Team' gave Blake a shiver down her spine. She was supposed to be going to Beacon to make this her profession, but here she was doing all the work of a professional Huntress with none of the training or accolades.
Suddenly the Faunus had an idea.
"What if I went and talked to Professor Ozpin? If Cinder really is plotting to destroy Beacon maybe he can help us get rid of her?"
An air of seriousness fell over the room.
"You're joking, right?" Uma said giving Blake a bewildered stare, "That's…Insane! We're criminals we don't work with guys like that."
"That's why I'll go alone! If anything happens it's all on me. I applied to Beacon anyways so it's not lik-"
"Un-be-lievable!" Roman interrupted, almost laughing, "You take the collar off the cat and she's already trying to run for the woods. You're gonna rat us out, aren't you? Are we not good enough for you? Do you wanna go to Beacon so you can live out your fantasy with your Huntsman team? Well let me be the first one to welcome you back to reality. This is your team. There is no future for you at that school. You can babble all you want about 'doing the right thing' but no one's gonna forget what you've done."
"I'm trying to do what's best. For everyone, even you. If this goes well Cinder will be dealt with and you can all go back to your lives."
Neo quietly grabbed a sketchbook off of one of tables, returned to Roman's side, and began furiously drawing.
Uma, still giving Blake a death glare, shook her head. "I know that we're a means to an end for you, but you're going to have to put us first here. You can do whatever you want with your life but I'm not going to let you backstab us. Go talk to Ozpin if you have to, but we'll be here doing what we do best and if he finds out about us, I'll put a dagger in your back before you've left the campus."
The woman was already drilling a hole through Blake's eyes with her own when she got up and walked over to the Faunus. Blake was quite tall, but Uma towered over her, and Blake had no doubt in her mind that Uma would eviscerate her without breaking a sweat.
"That being said," Uma continued, "We need all the help we can get, so welcome to the team kid."
She outstretched her hand and Blake shook it, worrying about the implications but not wanting to upset the people that had just saved her ass.
"Why do I get the feeling she's gonna get us all killed?" Torchwick sighed, looking over at Neo.
Neo looked back at the villain and smiled, turned her sketchbook to face him. On it the girl had written in stylized letters 'Team URBN'.
"Thank the Brothers we've got a good team name." Roman responded, rolling his eyes at Neo and lying back down.
Blake caught a glance of Neo's drawing and instantly felt a mix of emotions.
Well I guess it's only fitting. Who needs Beacon anyways?