POV YANG

2 years ago

I pulled out four belts of shotgun rounds and slid them into place in my gauntlet and grieves. With a flick of my ankle and wrist, each primed a round ready to unleash destruction. I dropped down from the ledge that overlooked the large warehouse and landed with a thud. I had no need to be quiet because within ten minutes there was going to be nothing but rubble.

Flames licked across my skin lighting up the air around me and pushed back the dark of night as I walked towards the building. A pair of men walked towards me wearing black jumpsuits and a ball cap each with a hand in their pocket. The first man was tall coming in close to 6 and a half feet with large muscles the other was average height and lanky. The taller man stopped in front of me and pulled out a revolver from his pocket and pointed it right at my head. "Little Missy I suggest you turn around and leave unless you want this to be the last thing you'll see!"

I cracked a smile and looked up the fire going from tiny licks of flame to a raging inferno. The thug yelped as the flames licked across the barrel of his gun heating it up to a white-hot color. With a yelp, he dropped the gun holding his burnt hand to his chest. "You know I was just going to break some bones but now you've upset me, so how about we dance!"

I dropped into a crouch and extended my leg while turning and knocked the man out from his legs while the other fired his own pistol where my head had been. A shotgun round fired from my grieves and I was launched forward towards the smaller man in a flash. Cocking my fist back I threw it forward into the man while firing a round straight into his chest. Before he could let out a scream I grabbed his arm that was holding his pistol and pointed it towards his partner on the ground. I squeezed hard on his hand forcing him to fire the pistol into his partner's chest multiple times. Once the pistol was empty I let go and the man fell to the ground lifeless from the holes in his chest.

I turned away from the bodies and started moving towards the warehouse but the door burst open and a dozen men and woman in black and white White Fang armor ran out most wielding assault rifles. I cocked my arms back and primed a round in my gauntlet and threw a punch at the crowd of guards who looked in terror as an explosive shotgun round impacted at their feet. I flew forward not giving them enough time to get there bearing and threw a flurry of punches and kicks into the crowd.

Blood splashed on my face as a round hit its mark and split a guard's helmet and skull in half. I spun as another guard lifted his rifle and fired, I ducked below the stream of lead and smashed a fist into his gut where he had no armor crushing his internal organs. The bullets he fired had missed me and hit the two guards who had been unlucky enough to be in their way had each of them received a new hole in their chest.

I grabbed the guard as he was falling to the ground and threw him at a woman who had tried to come up behind me with a sword. The result was a 200 hundred pound man slamming into the 120-pound woman and knocking her to the ground head first. She might not have died but it wasn't something she was gonna walk away from.

Priming another round I dashed forward and caught a sword in its downward arc towards my skull and landed an uppercut into his forearm shattering it into a mess of blood and bone. I grabbed the man and pulled him past me and spun and high kicked another guard in the chin the round automatically fired and his head exploded into a fountain of brain matter as his body hit the ground with a flop.

The remaining four guards looked at me with a terrified expression like they were looking at a monster. Flames erupted from my body and I let out a scream that shook them to their bones. The four guards turned and began running as fast as they could abandoning their weapons. I reached down and grabbed one of the assault rifles and pointed it at the fleeing quartet. Bullets flew from the gun and impacted all around the group and with a shift of the rifles position began puncturing flesh.

When the rifle stop firing the fleeing members had holes throughout their body and each fell to the ground without a single breath. I dropped the rifle and let it clatter to the ground and made my way over to the door the guards had come out through.

I stepped into the warehouse and was surprised to find it almost devoid of life. This was the complete opposite of most White Fang bases, usually, hundreds of members ran throughout the large base moving weapons and supplies while preparing for their next move. This base was supposed to be on of the biggest one but it was dead. Box laid piled in corners and lights flicked faintly.

I walked through the warehouse growing more agitated as I came up empty-handed. Even the office was completely empty, all the papers had been pulled out and only a few pages that had fallen were left. I walked back down to the center of the warehouse and decided to check the last possible location, the sewers.

The White Fang needed a way to move quietly across Vale and they couldn't do that out in the open. Lucky for them the sewers connected every part of the city together without limits. The sewers become the lifeline of the White Fang and without it, they would have struggled to gain the power they had. If there was anywhere they would run to as a safe haven it was there.

It didn't take more than thirty seconds to find the large crate that was used to cover the larger than normal sewer entrance. With a quick punch to the side of the container, the opening was revealed and I looked down into the darkness below. "Just like rats to run for the sewers."

Tucking my arms to my side I jumped down into the sewer and hit the ground with a light thump. Without any light or the luck of having night vision like the Faunus, I activated my semblance and the flames that licked out from my body acted as a light source so I could make my way. I looked around and wasn't surprised to see my hunch was right.

The White Fang where clearing moving fast and became lazy leaving evidence that they had been here. I bent over and picked up an ammo box that was still full. No one would leave this unless they were scared. I dropped the box and followed the trail of things left behind, Sometimes the trail would go cold and pick up after a turn or two. As time passed the sewer began to grow bigger and bigger slowly opening up to a large room.

I quickly killed the flames radiating from my body and peaked around the corner where a large amount of light was coming from. The sewer connected to a large room that was a large circle more than a hundred feet across. Crates were stacked around the outside of the room and a barricade had been set up at each entrance except the one I was hiding in. A mg had been set up and was pointing right at my tunnel. It seemed they were expecting me.

Close to four dozen guards sat in the room each armed ready to fight. Reaching to my belt I pulled out two fire dust crystals and poured my aura into them causing them to light up. I stepped out of my hiding place and threw the first crystal at the mg and then the other at the largest group of White Fang. The first crystal soared through the air and a just as the gunner noticed me the crystal smashed into the ground behind the gunner and burst into a large ball of flame killing the Faunus and melting the gun. The second crystal hit a White Fang female in her mask and detonated in a brilliant ball of flame that consumed more than half a dozen other members around her.

I jumped out from the tunnel and charged the closest group of White Fang and fired a volley of explosive shells into the crowd. The rounds impacted and the members standing too close to them either lost their limbs or life. The smell of blood and burning bodies filled the air making my nose scrunch up as I grabbed a man around the throat and snapped his neck then spun and fired a round from my gauntlet from into an ax-wielding dog Faunus blowing his chest apart.

I caught another's arm and twisted it forcing him to drop the knife as the bones splintered in his arm. I twisted him around and threw him and held him up as Faunus began firing from the other side of the room. Bullets began to impact into the Faunus and he was being torn to shreds as each bullet cut a chunk out of his body. When the group had finished firing I dropped the body and dashed forward not letting them open fire again.

I landed in the middle of the new group and began to rain destruction down with a mix of kicks and punch that broke bones, cut flesh, and took lives. No more than two minutes passed before I slammed a bear Faunus's skull into my knee and dropped him to the floor where the rest of the members lay some alive but many dead with blood draining from the bodies becoming one pool on the ground.

Blood dripped off of me and I activated my semblance the blood began to heat up and evaporate. I stepped out from the remains of the White Fang and walked towards the remaining group. Six White Fang huddled around a single figure who was kneeling down on the ground over a box. The large Faunus ripped the top off of the rectangular crate and reached inside pulling out a large chainsaw with large jagged teeth. The Faunus turned around and with one pull of the cord, the motor roared to life spinning the teeth at 90 miles an hour.

The Faunus stepped forward his white sleeveless trench coat flowing out behind him. The full face White Fang mask covered the Faunus and there was no clear sign of what type he was but it didn't matter I knew who he was. The Faunus had been the one to fight Weiss on the train during our first year during the breach. Weiss may have almost lost the fight and died but that was when we were young and still learning. This time it was different.

I raised my fist at the Faunus held his chainsaw in his hands the blade spinning slowly ready for more power. With a single yell, the Lieutenant rushed forward the chainsaw spinning wildly as he swung it across his body in a long slash. I kicked my left foot out and caught the weapon on the bottom of my grieves and fired a shot sending the weapon flying in the opposite direction it had come from. The Lieutenant held onto his weapon and used its new momentum to spin around and catch me on the other side. I jumped back as the blade slipped by just inches from catching my skin. With a quick pivot, I turned and slammed a fist into the Lieutenant's right arm blasting him back instead of turning his arm to pulp. It was good to fight someone with an aura.

I lunged forward and dropped to my knees sliding under the chainsaw and turned on my knee and shot a punch at the Faunus exposed back but instead, my hand met metal as his chainsaw split into two thin version each as deadly as the larger one. I leaned to the right dodging the first blade and blocked the other with my armored wrist before crouching and swiping the Lieutenant's feet out from under him.

The Lieutenant fell onto his back and rolled out of the way as I slammed my foot down where he was. He quickly got to his feet and began to block blow after blow I threw at him. The anger was building up inside me as each attack missed. With a burst of my semblance, power rushed into my body and I pushed myself farther. I could feel the Lieutenant began to panic as my speed and power increased past his ability to block me. The moment of truth happened when his left blade was slow by little more than half second and my fist hit him square in his chest sending him flying back into the small group of White Fang still alive.

The six remaining White Fang grunt's looked terrified as the Lieutenant slowly stood up. With a low gravely voice the Lieutenant pointed one of the chainsaw's at me and said. "Kill Her." The grunts didn't hesitate and opened fire on me with their weapons. With my semblance activated I stood right in the path of destruction and slowly walked forward. The grunts began to panic as I grew closer and closer their weapons doing nothing to stop me.

One of the grunts let out a scream as his rifle clicked empty and reached for the sword on his belt. I lunged forward as he pulled the blade free and ripped it from his hand and plunged it into his chest. I grabbed his body with one hand and threw it at the closest grunt and ran behind it using it as moving cover. Two grunts dove out of the way of the body, I pulled my foot back and swung forward and punted the closest of the two in the chest with a kick that sent his ribs into his heart. The other scrambled to his feet and pulled a pistol from his belt and aimed it at my head.

"You really want to do that." The grunt kept the pistol level with my head and as I dashed towards him he fired missing after I leaned my head to the right. I reached out and grabbed the pistol and turned the grunt at the other remaining White Fang and forced him to fire at them like I had done with the others outside. Once they were dead I pulled the pistol from the remaining grunts hand and pointed it at his head and fired.

I stepped over the grunts body and Lieutenant stood his chainsaw in hand staring blankly at the body of his men. With a loud clunk, the Lieutenant dropped his chainsaw and reached up pulling his mask off. "Just do it quickly, I've been waiting to die since the other bases fell."

"Fine have it your way!" With one single movement my fist flew forward into the Lieutenant's head crushing it.

I lurched forward in my bed sweat dripping from my body from the nightmare. My body shook as I looked around the room I was in. I held my hand up to my head the metal feeling cool to my skin remembering I was back at Beacon with Weiss, Blake and…..Ruby. I jumped out of my bed and reached for the door but was stopped by a small pale hand wrapping around my wrist. "Yang I'm pretty sure Ruby is fine right now you, on the other hand, you don't look so great.

I looked down at Weiss forgetting she had even been in the room. I slowly let go of the handle and walked back over to my bed passing by a large mirror on the way. Weiss was right I looked terrible my hair was a mess, my clothes were soaked in sweat and dark bags hung below my eyes. I moved past the mirror and sat down on the edge my bed looking over as Weiss turned on a lamp next to her bed the small light illuminating the room in a soft glow.

"So what happened?" I looked over to Weiss who was in her usual light blue nightgown her long white hair flowing behind her.

"It was just a nightmare nothing to worry about." Weiss jumped off her bed and stormed across the room grabbing my head and flicking it hard with her finger.

"Yang Xiao Long if there is anything I know it's that you do not have nightmares that are nothing to worry about. The first time you had them was after the fall and then again after what happened to Ruby. Do not try and hide this from me, I've spent enough time worrying about everything else that is happening and you are the last person I want to see in pain."

Weiss locked her eyes to mine and refused to look away keeping my own eyes from moving. When Weiss got serious like this there was no running away or trying to hide, either she got what she wanted or she just kept trying to force it out of you. In the end, she would always be victorious. "Weiss, I've told you before what happened with the White Fang. Right?"

"Yes you have but only little details. Yang if that's what this is about then it's not that bad. We've all killed people, it's what comes with this line of work it can't only be fun times fighting Grimm and saving people. It's the real world and people get hurt and die." Weiss reached out for my hand but I pushed it away shaking my head as a few tears fell from my face.

"No Weiss, you don't understand. What I did is nothing like that it's far worse. I didn't just go to the White Fang bases kick in some doors and bust heads and accidentally killed some Faunus. NO, I MASSACRED THEM. I went into the bases and slaughtered them like animals, most of them didn't even have aura. I walked away from those bases covered in blood and it haunts me because at the time I had no care for anyone's life, I took it away without a thought. Just like a monster."

I pulled my knees up to my body and buried my head inside them unable to look at Weiss. She was the SDC President, one of the most powerful people on Remnant and I was a killer. I didn't deserve to be in the same room as her.

"Yang, can I ask you something? How do you think Ruby feels after what happened these past years? You're her older sister and she needs you to be strong, I need you to be strong. Yes, you did something your not proud of but so have we all. Blake ran away for a year, Ruby became an assassin, and I became the very thing I despise most in the world. If you think any of us are proud of everything we've done then you're a bigger idiot then I could ever believe. Grow a pair and face it, Yang, just like the rest of us are, and when you need help we will be there just like you were for us."

Weiss finished her rant and reached out wrapping her small hand around my arm and pulled with a strength I didn't know she had. With Weiss pulling on my arm my grip around my legs loosened me knees fell free from their spot against my chest. I allowed myself to succumb to Weiss and looked into her bright ice blue eyes and mumbled a small thank you. Weiss didn't seem to hear it but didn't seem bothered by it.

"Now how about you go take a shower and when you're done go get Blake and Ruby, we need to be ready to leave in little over an hour and a half." I did as Weiss said and shuffled over to the bathroom grabbing my clothes on the way over. I opened the door and stepped into the bathroom and was about to close the door when Weiss caught let out a small cough to get my attention. "Oh, and Yang," Weiss looked at me and with a light blush on her face said, "You're welcome!"

I felt my face heat up and closed the door quickly and locked the door. I quickly turned on the shower and decided to do the one thing I never thought I would do. I was going to take a cold shower.

POV Ruby

"Wait wait wait, Ruby, you can't be serious. How is that even possible?" Blake was at a loss for words bending over on the floor in a fit of laughter. Blake had wanted to know more Kita and Ari and it turned into the story of their rescue, to me becoming a Mom and finally stories about them.

"Nope totally serious, A few months ago we were at a safe house and Cinder had left and the girls were watching tv and saw a commercial about baking cookies. After an hour of them begging me to make some I caved in. Kita has very little patience for things and after I pulled the cookies out of the oven she sped by grabbed one and plopped it in her mouth. How she didn't burn her hand was one thing but her mouth was different. Kita screamed but refused to spit out the cookie because it tasted too good. Ari just stood on the sidelines laughing at her."

Blake laughter grew louder and she had to clutch her stomach in pain from the amount. "Ruby that reminds me so much of you during freshman year, especially on Ren's bi-weekly cooking day. I never knew how Ren could dodge both you and Nora while cooking, it seemed almost impossible."

Blake and I both broke out laughing again till each of us fell to the floor laying next to each other heads next to one another. Once our laughter died down the two of us turned our heads face one another our chest rising and falling from the lack of oxygen. "Ruby I missed this."

"I did too." Blake's eyes locked onto my own and I could feel the small distance between us begin to grow smaller and smaller. Blake radiated a heat that I felt drawn to, everything she did was smooth and flawless like it had been practiced a million times. Even with some of my memories still being locked away it no longer blocked anything about Blake, she was the key I'd needed.

A knock on the door caused both of us to jump and our heads to smack into each other with a loud clunk and a grunt from both of us. Qrow opened the door and looked down at the two of us on the floor cradling our heads. "I don't know what you two were doing and I don't care. Just start getting ready the Bullhead leaves in an hour and we need to be on it."

Qrow turned around and closed the door behind him leaving the two of us alone. I quickly flared my aura to ease the pain and Blake did the same. I looked over at the clock and saw that it said 12:00 if we wanted to make out move then the right time. "Hey Ruby I'm gonna go change in the bathroom, you can change in here if that's ok."

"Ya, that's fine." Blake nodded and walked over to her closet and grabbed one of her extra sets of combat clothes and disappeared into the bathroom. Once I heard the door lock shut I began to strip off the clothes Blake had let me borrow and began to replace them with my own. It felt good to be back in my own clothes the worn fabric against my skin and the heaviness of my coat felt like a warm hug. I quickly adjusted my hair pulling it into a ponytail while still having bangs that fell down over my eyepatch.

I walked over to the bed and sat down waiting for Blake to finish up changing. It didn't take long and soon Blake stepped out in her combat attire looking the same as the day I remembered her. "Ruby, what are you staring at?"

I quickly blinked my eyes and realized I'd lost myself in my thoughts. "Nothing was just thinking….since it looks like you're ready how about we join the others."

Blake walked over to the door and motioned for me to go first, I gave a small thanks and walked out of the room and followed the hallway down into the living room. Qrow was sitting at the small counter in the kitchen drinking coffee while Winter was sitting on the couch with Weiss and Yang. Qrow turned around and slid two small packages across the counter towards me. "We don't have time to eat anything big so both of you eat one of those, they're high in nutrients and will help your aura."

I grabbed the packages and tossed one of them to Blake who ripped it open and took a bite out of the energy bar. I followed in Blake steps and did the same and was slightly surprised by the flavor. It was by no means amazing but not terrible.

"Now that everyone is here it's time we make our move when we get to the bullhead I'll explain the plan. So let's go." The five of us followed Qrow without a word and continued to keep our silence even as we walked down to the airstrip and onto the bullhead.

As my hand wrapped around the handle on the side of the Bullhead, my chest started to tighten and my breathing grew short. My grip on the handle slipped and I began to fall back but was caught by Qrow who helped me up into Bullhead. "It's ok little rose, I know you're nervous just don't push yourself."

Qrow didn't say anything else until all of us were seated in the bullhead. "Ok listen up this is important, Ozpin has already contacted the Vale Police Force and the Huntsman Association, right now they are on standby should anything happen but our job is to make sure nothing does. Right now we are splitting up into two teams. Team one is Ruby, Blake and I while team 2 is Winter, Weiss, and Yang. The building Cinder is hiding in is a three-story concrete building in the slums. The Bullhead is going to drop us off two blocks away which is where the two teams will separate. Team one will move across the rooftops and breach from the roof. Team 2 will stick to the streets and breach from the main entrance. Got it!"

"Qrow I don't know how I feel about not being with Ruby, I'm her sister shouldn't I stay with her." Yang looked upset when Qrow said that the two of us would be on separate teams and the grip she had on the crushed metal in her hand supported this.

"Yang I know you don't like it but we need to move quickly and silently and you are not the quietest of people. Cinder will know we are coming and if she makes a run she'll only be able to leave on street level when she attacked team JNR you were able to take her head on and we may need you to do it again. This is a snatch and grab situation the first thing we do is secure the twins then we get Cinder, just remember we need her alive. Understood?"

The six of us nodded and the tension grew in the air as the bullhead began to descend downward. The copilot leaned out from the cockpit and tapped the mic on his head. "We're starting our descent ETA 2 minutes to drop zone.