The city was alive tonight, lit up like a swarm of fireflies. Yang and Ruby passed several police cars on their way to their destination, all with sirens blaring. Armed officers patrolled the streets, giving their dirty cab wary glances. The radio jabbered on and on about "potential lockdown" and "state of emergency".
Yang knew why. Her battle with the White Fang drew attention, and while the Vale Police department could be slow to wake, once they got going, nothing short of the apocalypse would stop them.
Or elections. Whichever came first.
Yang spent the ride staring at her hands, at the blemish-less skin nearly shining in the sunlight. Ruby's magic healing… thing, had done a pretty good job at patching up the aches, bruises, scratches, drained aura and missing limbs she had suffered.
It did nothing for the sheer exhaustion she felt.
Yang felt tired. Not the kind of tired that could be healed with a good night's sleep, but bone-deep exhaustion that pervaded every cell in her body. She'd spent most of the past twenty-four hours fighting, and now she was going off to fight again. Normally, the thought would be exciting. She was Yang Xiao Long after all, badass huntress always looking for a quick brawl. Now… now she just felt resigned to it. They'd fight someone, probably nearly die, and then they'd fight again.
She lifted her gaze towards Ruby, sitting beside her, toying with the electric windows. Nothing had been said, but Yang could see the same type of tiredness in her. Perhaps not as bad, but still there. Guilt flushed through her. Ruby shouldn't be dealing with this, shouldn't be trying to take out an army of terrorists. She should be at school, talking with friends, studying, all the normal things fifteen year-old's do.
They should all be at school, really. Nothing that happened in the past week or two should have happened. The attack on the school, time travel, almost dying during initiation, Cardin, this. When was it going to stop? When could they be normal people again?
"Yang?" Ruby's voice was full of concern. Yang blinked, trying to shake herself out of her thoughts.
"Yeah?"
"You still okay?"
Not even close.
"I'm fine, Rubes," Yang replied, struggling to keep a tremor out of her voice. She punched the palm of her left hand, although the action lacked any intensity. "Ready to kick the crap out of these assholes?" The swear slipped out, briefly shocking her. Yang knew Ruby wasn't any stranger to less savory vocabulary, spending any time with Qrow would do that to you, but she normally made a better effort at not swearing around her little sister.
Ruby gave her a sad smile.
Yang slumped against the chair, running through another list of insults to hurl at herself. It had grown pretty big by this point.
Ruby's brow creased. "Did we get enough ammo?" She was referring to a brief stop at a Dust shop the trio had made. Yang picked up a few dozen more strips for Ember Celica, enough to (hopefully) last through the week.
"I'm good," Yang replied, holding up her arms for emphasis.
Ruby nodded. Satisfied, she leaned back and closed her eyes. Air barely seemed to leave her lips, and Yang almost wondered if she suffered a heart attack. (Would make as much sense as anything else…)
Their car pulled to a stop. Yang looked out the window, and saw an imposing warehouse, with the window's seemingly blacked out. Small piles of trash littered the ground around it, and a few shabbily dressed figures clung to the dark shadows.
"Nice place."
Ruby paid the driver, and stepped out of the car. Yang got out a few seconds behind her.
"It's… big," Ruby said, awe creeping into her voice. Yang elbowed her shoulder.
"Come on, we need to find a way in."
The main door was out, mostly because neither could lift it. A smaller door off to the side provided an obvious solution, so they immediately assumed it was a trap. Ruby proposed cutting or punching through the wall, but that would most likely just let them know they were coming.
"Why can't there be an air vent?" Ruby muttered. They had circled the building twice now, and there was no sign of any entrance. "All the movies have air vents…"
Yang snorted, and peered in through a window. It lead into a hallway of some sort, although it was too dark to see anything else. She raised a hand to the glass, trying to reduce the glare. The window pushed away from her.
Startled, Yang stepped back. Squinting her eyes, she saw that the window pane was wood, and rotting. A smile came to her lips.
"Found something?" Ruby asked, speeding to her side.
Yang grabbed the soft wood and pulled. "I think I can..." she trailed off, twisting her arms to gain more grip. Planting a foot on the wall, she gave one final tug, and yanked the window out of the wall, splinters falling to the ground. She let the window drop, and hoisted herself over the sill.
Gesturing to her sister, she said, "Come on!" Then dropped into the darkness.
She landed on the linoleum floor with a soft thud. Light streaked in through the new hole, casting her in a small spotlight. Ruby dropped behind her, and she heard the sound of her scythe deploying. Yang kept her gauntlets underplayed for now. They made opening doors difficult.
"You go first," Ruby ordered, slipping into leader mode. "I'll watch our backs."
"Not a problem."
They set off down the empty hallway, eyes scanning for anyone or anything awaiting them in the darkness. Their footsteps echoed through the quiet, making them seem far louder than they were.
"Where is everyone?" Ruby asked, leveling her gun at a corner as they approached it. "I kinda thought we'd be fighting by now."
Yang rounded the corner, deploying Ember Celica. Nothing moved, aside from a few rats. She lowered her arms. "They're probably setting up some kind of trap." Eyeing a closed door, she added, "Watch for anything that looks... explosive."
"And what exactly does 'explosive' look like?"
"I don't know, jackety?"
"What?"
"Don't ask."
She approached the door, keeping her right hand clenched and ready to fire. Her left hand reached for the handle, slow enough that Ruby could set up to her right. Gripping the dented brass knob, she slowly, ever so slowly, turned it.
Nothing happened. The door didn't explode, like she half-expected it too, but neither did it move. She briefly considered punching it down, but that wouldn't be conductive to the "stealth" part of this stealth mission.
Ruby leaned in, silently asking her what was happening.
"It's locked," Yang said in reply.
Ruby sighed, and aimed her rifle down the hall. Wordlessly, Yang took point once more, and the duo continued onwards.
The next corner brought them to a small door. To its right was a table, something small, designed to hold a phone or a vase. On the ground was a small puddle of something... dark.
Ruby shined her scroll on it, turning the dark spot into a familiar dark red. "Is that... blood?"
Yang crouched down, trying to get a closer look. "Looks like it."
It seemed fresh, no more than a few hours old. A few drops were scattered around it, stretching all the way to the wall, where another splotch resided. That one was dry, and much thinner.
Something seemed... odd, about the liquid. Yang, on a whim she couldn't explain, placed the tips of her fingers in the puddle at her feet.
Blake.
Suddenly she was standing, struggling to contain a burst of fear and anger. "It's Blake's," she growled, capturing Ruby's attention. "She's here, or was here."
Ruby tilted her head. "How do you know?"
"I just do, alright?" Yang snapped, not wanting, and not able to explain her sudden certainty. "Come on, that can't be more than an hour old. If she's still here..."
Ruby's eyes widened. "Then she's bleeding." Her expression turned into a slab of rock, and she hoisted Crescent Rose in front.
"Let's move."
Yang practically ran down the hall, forgetting about stealth. Ruby suppressed an annoyed huff, and ran after her.
Halfway down the hall, she shot a look behind her, checking if the White Fang had tried to flank them.
Instead, she saw Blake's blood, glowing a soft, yellow shade.
And then it was gone.
Ruby stared at where the puddle had been, mouth hanging open. Her mind raced for explanations, and found none. Well, none that didn't say, "Weird magical healing thingy".
Part of her wanted to stop, and ask Yang what she'd done. Then she remembered where they were.
Slamming her mouth shut, she ran off, intent on catching up with her sister. She found her in the main storage room of the warehouse, stacked high with shipping containers. Most either had bare sides, or SDC logo's. Long fluorescent tubes ran across the ceiling, casting a harsh light that burned into her eyes.
Coming up behind her sister, Ruby tapped her on the shoulder. "Did you find anything?"
Yang didn't respond. In fact, she barely moved. Ruby leaned around her, and what she saw reduced her to a similar state.
Blake, tied to a chair and under a flood light. She was frozen, didn't even seem to be breathing. Ruby felt her own breath hitch, but resisted the urge to rush forward. It seemed too dramatic, too much like a movie. Either Adam was a fan of old spy movies, or this was a trap.
Yang had no such fears, and rushed forward; Ruby grabbed her sister's arm and pulled her back, surprised at the energy in her sister's stride. Twenty minutes ago, she seemed ready to fall over!
"Let, me, Go!" Yang all but yelled, trying to throw Ruby off.
"Something's wrong! We need to wait!"
Yang drew back an arm, and Ruby worried that she was about to hit her. Yang herself seemed unsure.
"I would listen to your little partner there..."
Ruby let go of Yang, and pulled out Crescent Rose. She whipped her head around, searching for the source of the noise.
Yang took the more direct approach. "Get out here!" she yelled. "Come on!"
The voice chuckled. "As you insist."
Two men stepped out from the shadows. Both were armed, and were faunus, but that was where the similarities stopped.
The one on the right wore an intricate Grimm mask, seemingly held in place by two large horns bursting through his hair line. His clothing carried the same style as the White Fang foot soldier, but she could see thick plates of armor underneath every stitch. In his right hand, he carried some kind of chain, with bolts of lightning arcing up and down its length.
On the left stood a far thinner man. He lacked the armor and horns of his partner, but stood several inches taller. His clothing lacked the immediate resemblance to the White Fang's uniform, black leather, with red lines across his chest. His arms were covered in metal and gears, leading to two circular sawblades on the back of his hands.
Horns spread his arms, as if he was inviting them to a banquet. "Welcome to our humble abode." He spoke with the same quiet dignity Ozpin usually used. Soft, yet forceful.
Yang was having none of it, and threw back her arms, cocking a shot. "Move," she growled, her eyes turning red. "Before I turn you into vegetables."
Horns smirked. "I suppose you have plenty of practice with that, don't you?"
Yang tried to step forward, but Ruby had regained her grip and wasn't letting go. Instead, she settled for more yelling. "You think you scare me?!"
Horns extended his chain, each link clanking on the cold pavement. Electricity was soon joined by frost, fire, and even an odd purple glow that signified gravity Dust.
Yang finally wrenched her arm free. Both gauntlets at her side, she said, "Still. Not. Scared. Get out of my way."
Horns, clearly the more talkative of the duo, laughed mockingly. "Why, so you can save your precious friend." He pointed towards Blake. "Jay, if you would do the honours.
Jay, apparently the guy with the saws, nodded. Suddenly, he raised his arm, and fired his saw blade at Blake. A cable connected it and his arm, allowing him to steer it closer to her neck.
Her head was sheared off, falling to the floor and bouncing… twice…
What?
"She's—it's plastic," Yang said, somewhat redundantly. Her lips curled into a snarl, and she spat at the two soldiers. Actually spat.
Horns smirked. "Hey, looky here, these two got some fight in them!" His smile turned feral. "Been a long time since we've had that."
Yang roared, and threw herself forward. Horns ducked under her body and wrapped his chain around her torso. He began to spin her around, winding up like he was about to throw a lasso.
Ruby lined up a shot to free her sister, but had to sidestep Jay's blades as they came flying at her. One carved into a shipping container behind her, and she heard his arm brace thingy whirring away, trying to pull it back. The cable connecting him and the blade went taut.
She hooked Crescent Rose onto the stiff cable and spun around, using the gun part of her sniper-scythe to slowly carve it to nothingness. It felt somewhat like being on a roller coaster, only with the knowledge that stopping would most likely mean dying.
Jay realised what she was doing, and seemed to switch gears. His weapon stopped spinning, and then spun the other way. Ruby didn't realise what was going on, until she caught sight of his blade coming straight for her head. Stifling a gasp, she threw herself off the cable, soaring high into the air.
Jay crashed into the cargo container, creating a large dent in its side. Barely slowed, he used his free hand to cut out his other, and then threw the offending metal at her. Milliseconds before it impacted, Ruby spun her scythe to deflect it, firing a shot to push her into the rafters.
Landing on a narrow metal bar, Ruby switched Crescent Rose into sniper mode and took aim at her opponent. Pulling the bolt back, she fired shot after shot, hitting him in the arm and shoulder. Yanking on the trigger one last time, she received only a soft click as the gun ran dry.
Muttering a few unsavory phrases, she fumbled in her pockets for another clip. A blade crashed through the metal beside her, nearly making her fall off. Jay rocketed up, swinging his legs out, and managed to slam into Ruby's stomach. She flew backwards, crashing into a metal beam. Her left arm shot out, barely managing to grab the ledge before she fell.
Crescent Rose was not so lucky, and fell to the floor. Infused with her aura, and already incredibly durable, she knew the blade wouldn't be damaged by the fall. As she hauled herself to her feet and watched Jay grow ever closer, she wondered if that would matter.
Yang crashed through the metal shipping container, crashing into the far wall, and felt the chain slip away. She crashed onto the ground, and tried to shake a bout of dizziness. Her skin felt like it had just been through a blizzard, volcano, and lightning storm, all at the same time. Her clothing had dozens of cuts, all with smoking black edges.
Horns stepped through the hole she had created and whipped his weapon, cutting a straight line through the metal roof. "Come on! Don't tell me that's it!"
Snarling, Yang glanced at the contents of the container. To her right was a shrink wrapped pallet of rubbing alcohol, generic brand, and extremely flammable. She tore through the plastic, and pulled out two bottles, then chucked them at Horns.
He dodged the first one, and swept aside the other. Before he could say anything, Yang fired a shot at both. They lit up, and burning alcohol and melting plastic splattered him, sticking to his clothes and skin. Some landed in his eyes, and he raised a hand to scratch it out.
Grinning, Yang leapt forward, sinking both fists into his stomach. Caught off guard, he stumbled back, one harm clutching his torso, the other ripping the plastic off his skin. Too bad, she was kinda hoping it would burn through his aura.
And his skin.
Screaming out incomprehensible noises, he whipped the chain at her legs, trying to tangle her in his grasp. She leapt over, and fired her gauntlets behind her, launching her at him like a rocket.
His eyes wide, he narrowly dodged out of her way. Unable to stop, Yang went through the hole and back out into the main room. She skidded on the ground, until she managed to dig her fists into the ground and slow herself.
Shooting her head up, she saw Horns spinning his chain around, level with her neck. Dropping to the ground, she narrowly missed the energy infused chain as it tore through the shipping crate behind her.
A shipping crate with the Schnee Dust Company logo.
…What happened to the days when they were lucky?
Red, yellow, green, and every other colour of flames shot out of the container, turning the warehouse rainbow coloured. Yang fired both her gauntlets, desperately trying to escape the blast radius. Horns whipped his chain towards the roof, and pulled himself to safety.
Landing on another container, Yang risked a glance back at the fireball. It was massive, and spreading through the containers. She could feel the heat licking at her skin, any closer, and she wouldn't have to worry about the fire ball.
She spat out a swear. Without several shots from a mortar, her gauntlets lacked the power needed to move her. She needed to get up, away from the flames, but she couldn't jump that high, nor shoot herself.
Her eyes widened, and she pulled out Gambol Shroud. Swinging it like a windmill, she threw it into the metal beams running along the ceiling, the razor-sharp metal cutting in by several inches. She wasn't sure if it had any kind of reeling method, so she started shimmying up the rope.
Just before she reached the top, Horns leaned over the metal beam she was climbing towards. His smirking mouth opened to say something, but Yang shot a round at his head before he could get a breath out. He dodged, jumping back to another beam, but his smirk had turned into a feral snarl.
Yang pulled herself onto the steel supports, the tips of her toes leaning over the edge. Her footing was horrible, and she nearly fell. Shooting out an arm, she managed to grab another support. The metal felt warm to her skin, heated by the flames below.
Horns whipped out his chain, curling it around the beam below her. He pulled, hard, and the beam bent, then gave way. Yang fell, held up only by her grip on the support beam. She swung her other arm up, took hold and swung to the next beam. Horns tried to take it out too, but she was ready for him.
When his chain arced towards her, instead of dodging, she grabbed it. His face turned from anger to surprise, which remained as Yang pulled him towards herself. Thankfully, the beam was wider than the other one, so she didn't lose her balance.
His face careened towards her. She raised a fist and threw it forward, connecting with his nose. Firing a shot, she threw him backwards, and then yanked on the chain again. This time she aimed her blow at the top of his head, and sent him spinning around the beam. Every time he came up, she fired another shot, spinning him faster and faster.
Eventually, he stopped. The chain wrapped itself around the beam, tight enough that Yang could not pull it away. Horns dangled on the other end, roughly two body length's away. He squirmed, trying to free his weapon. In response, she slammed her foot down on the chain, and crouched down.
"I wouldn't move too much!" she yelled glancing down at the multi-coloured display below. "Those flames look hungry!"
Horns ignored her, and tried to lift his legs to the chain. Yang grabbed it and pulled to the side, crashing him into the roof.
Now settled, she pulled him closer. He was still far enough away that he couldn't do anything, but she could see the sweat pouring off his skin.
"Where. Is. Blake?"
Horns laughed.
She let the chain drop, falling nearly three feet before it stopped. Horns didn't scream, but his yelp would live forever in her dreams.
"Tell me, or burn. I'll be happy with either one."
He kept laughing. Tears streaking down his cheeks, he looked down at the fire, and then up at her. "No, no I don't think you will."
She snarled, and leveled her arm at him. "Do not fuck with me. Talk, or I smash this thing." She lifted her free arm to drive the point home, but her stomach twisted at the words. The thought of killing him, even given what he had done…
He grinned. "Oh, wouldn't that be grand?" Plates of metal on his arm rose up.
Then he started falling.
"NO!" Yang screamed, rappelling down the rope to grab him. However, she was too slow, and his body fell into the furious flames far below, the smile never fading from his lips.
"Why… why did you…?" She whispered, unmoving despite the increasing heat. Her left arm dangled, while her right slowly slipped down the chain. The beam above her bent, the support structure failing.
"I didn't… I didn't want…"
Did she?
Ruby shot over the next saw-blade, feeling the teeth slip her boots. Jay spun around, launching his left arm down at her head. She rolled, going under his blade, and falling off the beam. Kicking in her semblance, she leapt to the floor, landing on a shipping container hard enough to leave a dent.
Glancing upwards, she saw the flames arc out from Yang's location. Her heart stopped, until she saw her sister climbing up and away from the fire. Swallowing, she quickly began to search for her weapon.
Despite what happened on her first day, Ruby knew very well what could happen in a Dust fire. Judging from the colour of the flames, it was most likely going to burn itself out. Still, while it was doing so it would be incredibly hot, and her sweetheart was not designed to withstand those kind of temperatures.
Nothing was designed to take those temperatures.
A saw-blade buried itself in the metal to her right, cutting a few strands of hair as it went past. Ruby spun, dodging the next one, and jumped to the floor. The concrete felt warm, and the air stifling. Crescent Rose sat less than a foot away.
She heard something crash into the shipping container behind her, and when she turned around, she saw Jay fling both his blades around and at her. Dropping to the ground, she rolled out of the way and towards her scythe.
By now, the flames had spread across the warehouse. Few containers still had Dust in them, but it didn't need much to grow. Looking to her left, she saw a tower of flames, tall enough to nearly reach the ceiling. Her right was a mirror image, although not quite as tall.
Her scythe was almost in reach of her hand, and the flames.
Jay leapt down from the container and crashed behind her. She heard his blades spinning up, the noise becoming louder every second. Kicking in her semblance, she dashed forward, leaving a cloud of petals in his face.
Picking up her scythe, she rammed the blade into the ground and spun around it, until she was facing her opponent. Pulling back on the bolt and mindful of the heat licking at his skin, she fired.
BANG! BANG!
The high-powered sniper rounds tore through the gears and motors powering his blades. They whirred, sputtered, and groaned, then gave up with a puff of smoke. Jay looked down at his hands, tried to pry the bullets out, and then looked up at her.
"Fiddlesticks."
Ruby shot herself forward, slashing her scythe in every direction. Down, up, right, left, block a fist to her right, vault over, keep going.
Jay grabbed her scythe and threw it, and her, high on the shipping containers. She stabbed Crescent Rose into the softer metal and came to a stop, the impact jarring her arms. Down below, she could hear him start to climb up the sides, using his broken blades to cut into the metal.
Sadly for him, a container to their right suddenly erupted into a multi-coloured display of death. It was just far enough away to keep her from becoming Ruby nuggets, but the force it unleashed pushed the stack, and it slowly began to fall down.
Into the fire below.
Her semblance flared into life, a massive cloud of petals providing the only hint of her initial location. On her way by, she grabbed Jay's shoulders and pulled him along. Thankfully, he realised she was his best hope of surviving. Of course, Ruby didn't have the strength to pull him forever.
Pushing her semblance to its limits, she leaped into the air and twisted around his body. Spinning her scythe, she whacked the blunt side against his back, sending him flying through a window.
"Sorry!"
Landing on a melting container, she quickly pointed her scythe behind her and fired, launching herself up to another crate. Barely slowing, she ran off the edge of the crate and jumped at the side of another, running up it and the three stacked above it.
Near the top, she hooked Crescent Rose into the lip of the container and pushed herself upwards, firing a shot to rip the blade out and fling her faster. The air pushing at her hair and cloak, she flew higher and higher, until she was metres away from the metal beams.
Pulling her scythe in front of her, she hooked it onto a beam and spun around it. Metal filings flew off, and the air filled with sparks, a few landing on her skin. Grimacing, she twisted her scythe and landed on the beam, holstering her weapon, and patted out the smoldering spark.
The flames below continued to rage, now having spread to nearly the entire building. Lightbulbs flickered and died, metal beams formally holding up the roof began to crumple, or drip liquid metal. Ruby stared worryingly at the flames, and the lack of any easily accessible windows.
Suddenly, she heard Yang scream, "NO!"
Whipping her head up, Ruby saw her sister, clutching onto a dangling chain, swinging dangerously close to the rainbow of death below. Quickly mapping out a safe path, Ruby ran to her, stopping at the beam where the chain hung.
She tried to pull her up, but without her semblance providing speed, Yang was too heavy for her to budge.
"Move!" she yelled, yet her sister remained.
Pulling out Crescent Rose, she smacked it against the metal bar. Yang shook her head and looked up, her eyes wet at the corners. "Ruby?"
She nodded. "You need to climb! Now!"
Looking down at the encroaching flames, Yang yelped, and started pulling herself up the chain. The beam buckled, prismatic flames lurching up the supports themselves.
Yang saw this as well, and without speaking, she grabbed her around the waist and fired both her gauntlets, sending the two sisters flying upwards. In a single smooth motion, she pulled out Gambol Shroud and threw it towards the ceiling, gripping the ribbon tightly.
"Go go go!" she yelled, lifting Ruby to the ribbon. She grabbed on with both hands and started climbing, and within seconds, Yang started pulling herself up. She had thrown it just next to a window, with blue sky peering through.
The flames had nearly reached them. Yang started pulling the ribbon up behind her, fearing for its safety. The glass was close enough to touch. Ruby threw a fist against its smooth surface, smiling when the glass cracked. With another blow, it shattered, showering the two sisters with a sprinkling of sharp shards.
Ruby threw herself through the now clear window, and gulped in a huge breath of fresh, cool air. Yang landed on the roof beside her, coughing out a lung or two.
Her feet felt heat simmering through the metal roof, so the two dropped off the side of the building and into a small alleyway. Jay was gone, although Ruby could see where he had landed.
Yang bent over, swallowing down every ounce of air she could pull in. "Ruby?"
"Yes?"
She let out another cough. "I don't think they had a license for all that Dust."
Ruby laughed, the tension draining out of her small frame. With a burst of her semblance, she ran to her sister's side and pulled her into a tight hug. Yang shook under her fingers, raspy breaths giving way to calm.
"Um... sis?" Yang said, slowly pushing Ruby away. "You're kinda... glowing."
Ruby spread out her arms and looked down. Sure enough, her aura was lit up, casting the alley in a red light.
Lifting her head to look at Yang, she said, "So are you." Yang's body was draped in her own aura, although it seemed... darker.
Probably just the lighting.
Probably.
An angry and very familiar voice called out from the street. "What did you two do?"
Ruby turned around, and saw Weiss, staring at them with her hands on her hips. Her face was in a perfect state of incredulous exasperation, but the way her eyes lingered on each blackened patch on their clothing exposed how worried she really was.
"I leave you alone for an hour, and what do you do?" She threw an arm out to gesture towards the building. "You nearly destroy—"
The roof of the warehouse caved in, followed by the walls. Bright flames peeked through cracks, but the lack of further ignition was clearly beginning to kill the fire.
"—completely destroy a building!" she corrected, her eyebrow's twitching. Sighing, she continued in a much softer voice. "Please tell me you found something."
Yang's good mood vanished, and Ruby expected her to start yelling again. Instead, she stared into the burned out building, a confused look on her face.
"No," she said, her voice quiet. "No, she wasn't here."
Weiss slumped. "Fantastic. The other place was a bust as well."
Ruby stared at both her partners. "But that means..." Her head lowered. "We don't have any more leads..."
Neither of her teammates contradicted her.
Defeated, the trio left the alleyway with their heads low, and their spirits lower. Ruby didn't think it was possible for thing to get any worse.
The moment they came out onto the street, five, eight, no, ten police cars pulled up in front of them. Armed and armored officers flooded out, all wielding grenade launchers and high-powered rifles. One pulled out a megaphone.
"DOWN ON THE GROUND, NOW!" he yelled, the noise deafening. Ruby stepped forward and held out her hands.
"We're not the bad-guys!" she yelled, her voice barely legible under the cacophony of sirens. They responded immediately, raising every gun they had and pointing them towards her.
"I SAID ON THE GROUND!"
"No! Please, you have to listen to me!" Ruby pleaded. She didn't dare move, but Yang behind her stepped forward; her gauntlets deployed, and threw an arm in front of her.
"Any of you shoot, and I'm knocking you into the next century!" she warned, her eyes stop sign red. A few officers glanced at each other, their hands shaking perhaps the tiniest bit more, but none moved their guns.
Ruby lowered her arms. "Guys, just do what they say."
Yang turned to her. "But—!"
"Just do it."Ruby slowly lowered herself to her stomach, taking care not to make any fast movements. Weiss copied her, and Yang, after a few seconds hesitation, followed along.
The officer with the megaphone nodded, and a few officers walked up, keeping their guns trained on them. They pulled their weapons off their bodies, and threw them on the ground in a haphazard pile.
"Hey! Watch what you're doing!" Weiss yelled, earning a gun barrel to her head. Undaunted, she lifted her head to stare him in the eyes. "Go ahead, shoot a Schnee. See what that gets you."
The officer didn't verbally react, but pulled the gun away. Ruby was pulled to her feet by rough hands, cuffed, and led over to the back of a police cruiser. Just before she was pushed in, she saw her sister and her partner in similar situations. The police officer holding her pushed harder, forcing her to take a seat.
The inside of the cruiser was clean, with fairly new leather seats. It smelt vaguely of lemons, and seemed freshly cleaned. Ruby tried to pull her hands apart, and got a small shock for her trouble. Twisting the cuffs, she read the embossed letters on the metal surface.
Aura resistant.
Immediately, she understood what the shock was for. For most aura users, it would break their concentration, and make it difficult to use their aura. Ingenious, in a way.
Less so when it was used against her.
Ruby leaned her head back, resting it against the cool surface of the police cruiser. She closed her eyes, trying to block out her current situation.
It wasn't working.
An officer stepped into the driver seat and closed the door. The car rumbled to life, and drove away from the burning building. Behind them was Yang and Weiss's cars, along with a steady line of firefighters.
Leaning forward, Ruby asked, "What's going to happen to us?"
The officer turned on the windshield wipers, barely glancing at her. "Depends on what you say."
Ruby swallowed.
Barry leaned his gun against a small tree, raising a hand to wipe away the sweat on his brow. His pack's straps dug into his shoulder, but he knew that adjusting them would be pointless.
His partner, a small wisp of a woman, armed with a silenced pistol, came to a stop beside him and raised her weapon. Her eyes glowed in the deep darkness of the night.
He tapped her shoulder. When she turned to him, he said, "Forget it, I'm just resting."
She rolled her eyes. "Of course you are."
"Hey, this craps heavy."
She rose up, meeting him in the eye. Her gun remained firm in her hands, and he could swear she was pointing it at his crotch. "You ready to go?"
He nodded, and she set off into the bush. Within seconds, Barry lost her. He felt a stab of annoyance, but it was ultimately a good thing. If he couldn't see her, odds were their enemies couldn't either.
A quick check of his scroll gave him an idea of how much farther was left. Groaning, he picked up his rifle and set off.
The forest was alien to him, having spent most of his life in Vale. The sounds of squirrels and owls freaked him out almost as much as the Grimm, and kept his gun pointed firmly in front.
Far, far too much time passed before he arrived at the river. Frothy water bubbled over stones, before leading into a small crack in the ground.
His partner appeared next to him. "This is the place," she said, sling her gun onto her back. "Let's get that sucker off you."
Barry pulled his pack off, gently setting it on the ground. Opening the canvas flap, he pulled out a large, clear jug, with milky liquid sloshing within.
Lifting it upwards, he stared into the river. "So… I just pour it in?"
His partner nodded. "Yep. By the time it gets inside, it'll have mixed in."
"Alright then, wish me luck," he finished cheekily, and then began to pour the liquid into the river. Bubbles rose to the surface, and the water was briefly covered with a layer of foam.
Setting the jug down on the grass, he turned to his partner. "So what now?"
"Now…" She smiled, and stared at the moon.
"Now, we wait."