Here it is...the extra long continuation of our story! I just couldn't break this chapter into pieces...you'll see why later. I hope that everyone really likes this chapter, or at least appreciates it! Don't give up on me just yet. Please read, review, and enjoy your weekend!
Hiding in the shadows of the airship, Blake watched as Yang punched the hatch door open and flew outside, unadulterated power emanating from the girl as her long blonde hair took on the attributes of fire. Blake could feel her own muscles quivering in anticipation fog roll through the door moments later, accompanied by the deafening sounds of battle. She wanted to be out there fighting beside her partner, but knew that she and Ren had a much more important mission right now: finding Ruby and bringing her back safely.
After waiting for several long seconds, she glanced towards Ren to see if he was ready to slip outside. He gave her a small nod of his head and they slunk off towards the door together. Poking her head outside the ship briefly, her eyes analyzed the battle in front of them.
Guards were flying in every direction as they attempted to fight the huntsmen before them. Paladins were clumsily trying to navigate around the guards beneath their feet as they launched missiles, explosions sending tremors through the hanger floor. She quickly found Yang, leveling punches and kicks in every direction as guards tried to swarm her.
Tearing her eyes away from her partner, she looked for the best way to escape the hanger unnoticed. A hallway that seemed to be void of any guards caught her attention. Even though it seemed to be headed away from where they would need to go, it was their best chance of slipping into the heart of the base without being sighted.
Nodding her head in that direction, Ren followed her as they stealthily slipped out of the ship and towards the edge of the battle, crouching and sliding behind any cover they could find. She didn't even risk glancing back as they reached the hallway, not wanting to see Yang fighting by herself for a second longer.
They sprinted through the empty hallway, the sounds of alarms still blaring in their ears even as the noise of battle began to fall behind them.
If their plan was working, the only guards not heading for the hanger bay should be those that had been specifically instructed to watch Ruby. They just needed to find a room that was still being heavily guarded…the only problem being that the base was massive and convoluted.
"Do you have any idea where we should be going?" Ren asked in a hushed whisper as he kept pace with her strides.
Coming to an intersection where they could either continue to the left or the right, she shook her head as the gravity of the situation began to settle upon her. They had no idea where they were going.
"No idea…" she answered honestly as she looked hastily in each direction, hoping for some sort of sign to point the right way. She closed her eyes and decided that right was the best way to go, setting off at a still determined pace.
Hearing footsteps pounding down the hallway towards them, Blake held up her hand to halt Ren, looking at him with concerned eyes before searching around desperately for a place to hide. The only option nearby was a door that led to who knows where.
Figuring that they had to risk it, Ren pulled open the door and they both rushed inside, pulling the door shut gently behind them.
Blake rapidly scanned the room they had entered, nerves on edge as she expected to find herself face to face with a room full of enemies. Instead, she allowed her muscles to uncoil as she realized that they had found their way into what appeared to be a supply closet.
Ren peered at her thoughtfully as the thud of boots neared their location.
"You know, Nora isn't very good at asking for directions, either," he whispered at her.
She furrowed her brow in confusion. What was he talking about?
As the sound of boots was passing right by their hideout, Ren closed his eyes in intense concentration. Swiftly, he ripped open the door, reached out and grabbed one of the passing guards by the back of his collar, using his other hand to muffle the yelp the guard tried to get out as he dragged the unsuspecting man inside.
Blake instantly leap into action, shutting the closet door as Ren dragged the guard further inside the storage room with them. Ren held the struggling man's arms firmly behind his back, kicking the back of his knees in order to make him fall to the ground in front of Blake. As soon as the man opened his mouth to begin shouting for help, Blake hit him hard across the face with the flat edge of Gambol Shroud's sheath. The man looked back to her in fear as she held the end of her blade up to his neck, silently threatening to do much worse if he didn't remain quiet.
He instantly complied, eyes wide as saucers as he started to quake in terror.
She smiled ruefully. This is what you got when you hired goons who were only in it for the paycheck; they folded like cards under the slightest amount of pain, real or otherwise. And she was willing to deliver much more than just a little bit of pain right now.
"Good," she replied menacingly after the guard shut his mouth. "Now, you're going to tell us where to find Ruby Rose."
He began shaking his head, only narrowly avoiding cutting himself on the blade still resting against his throat in his terror.
"I-I can't do that! They'll kill me!" he sputtered out, panic growing in his voice as his eyes began frantically searching for any way out of this situation.
She pressed the blade a little closer to his neck in order to regain his complete attention.
"We'll kill you if you don't tell us," she replied, hoping that her threat seemed real enough to him.
"So, which would it be, die now…or tell us what we want and die later?"
She watched as he seriously weighed his choices, hoping that he wouldn't make her follow up on her idle threats to get the information they needed. It was one thing to injure someone who was actively trying to harm you, but a completely different thing to hurt someone whom you had already rendered harmless.
"Ok," he finally replied, resigned to his fate. "They're holding her in a room in the very center of base."
"How do we get there from here?" Ren asked gruffly, pulling the man's arms together more tightly behind his back, eliciting a small grimace of pain.
"A map…my scroll has a map."
Blake raised an eyebrow as she reached forward and patted the man's pocket, pulling out his scroll several seconds later and turning it on. Sure enough, there was a map of the complex built into the device.
"Jesus…" she muttered softly as she took in the size and scale of the operation. It took her a few moments to find their own location on the map and where it looked like Ruby was being held. Taking a couple more seconds, she memorized the directions they would need to take.
"Thank you," she replied honestly as she gave the man a small smile of appreciation for having been so compliant. She nodded to Ren, who wrapped the guard up in a tight sleeper hold. She watched as the man struggled for several seconds, until his eyes rolled back in his head as unconsciousness enveloped him. Finding some rolls of duct tape stacked on the closet shelves, she and Ren worked together to tape the man up. Even after he regained consciousness, he wasn't getting out of this closet anytime soon.
Nodding in satisfaction, Blake turned her ear to the door, listening for the sound of anyone nearby. Hearing nothing, she opened the door slowly and eased her head out. Once she was sure it was all clear, she set off at a sprint, this time knowing exactly which way to go.
She repeated the directions to herself as the two of them flew through the deserted hallways.
Second left, third right, left at the T, second right…
They were getting close. The sound of the alarms had disappeared from the hallways, leaving only flashing lights signifying that any alarms had been triggered at all. She slowed down, actively listening for the sounds of anyone still in the hallways, grateful that her hearing abilities seemed to have fully returned to her.
If the guard had been truthful, Ruby would be around the next turn…a dead-end hallway leading to a room with only one entrance.
Holding her hand up, Ren obediently stopped behind her as they neared the corner. She could hear them now: boots shuffling against the floor, quiet conversations in hushed voices, fingers tapping nervously on metal.
Turning to Ren, she gestured silently to the hallway, signaling that they had finally found it. Holding up Gambol Shroud, she used the polished blade as a makeshift mirror, allowing them to see around the corner and into the hallway.
She counted twenty guards packed into the corridor. Although it was wider than a traditional hallway, the men left very little space unoccupied.
One thing was for sure, there would be no sneaking by this group. They would have to fight their way through, and quickly, before one of them called for backup. She could only imagine what would happen if it was discovered that they were this close to breaking Ruby out.
She pulled Ren away from the corner so that they could speak to each other.
"We need a distraction," she whispered, racking her brain for any idea of how to throw the guards off balance. All they needed was a few seconds of confusion so that she and Ren could take down a large chunk of the guards before they realized what was happening…and they couldn't risk just storming into the hallway.
Ren looked around, his face thoughtful.
"I have an idea," he began quietly, "but you're probably not going to enjoy this."
Blake followed the direction he pointed in, eyes falling upon the emergency sprinkle placed on the ceiling a few paces behind them. She just barely stopped a groan from escaping her lips. Fighting while drenched in cold water certainly wasn't her idea of a good time.
But, it would at least buy them the few seconds they needed. And she wasn't about to let a little water prevent her from saving her teammate.
She nodded to Ren, who strode over and positioned himself directly underneath the sprinkler head, prepared to leap upwards and knock it off. Blake positioned herself right at the corner of the corridor, clutching Gambol Shroud in her hands as she readied herself for the impending battle.
The second she heard the metal clink of the sprinkler being detached from the ceiling, she flew around the corner, sensing Ren's presence right behind her. The remaining sprinkler heads in the hallway extended, spraying geysers of water from above them. Thankfully, it had the intended effect of forcing all of the guards' attention downwards as they shielded their faces from the sudden onslaught of water.
They had knocked out the first eight guards before the others had even realized that they were under attack. Hardly able to see through the rush of droplets raining from the ceiling, the remaining guards began firing blindly down the hallway.
Blake blocked the shots with her blade as she continued knocking guards out of her way. Jumping sideways, she ran briefly along the wall before launching herself off of it, landing with a small skid on the wet ground behind the few remaining enemies.
Several of them tried to turn around to face her, while the others kept their attention on Ren, who was still swiftly approaching from the front. But she was much too quick for any of them, dashing forward and knocking two of them to the ground with her sheath, while a kick to the sternum sent the last sailing into the wall with a loud thud.
Turning back to the hallway, she found guards strewn all around the floor. Satisfied that no one was getting back up soon, she turned her attention to the large door. She tried the handle, but it didn't budge.
She closed her eyes in concentration, attempting to cut out the sound of rushing water and the feel of water pelting into her skin and clothing. After several seconds of focus, she was able to conjure one of her clones on the opposite side of the door. Her brow creased with effort as she directed it towards the deadbolt, turning the lock with an audible click as the door released.
Casting her clone back into oblivion, she tugged the handle downwards and ripped the door open as she walked into the room.
She could still make out the sound of rushing water coming from outside, but this room was unnervingly still and dry. It took several seconds for her eyes to adjust to the low light, but once they had she was able to make out Ruby's form strapped to a chair in the center of the room.
"Ruby!" she called out, her voice coming out much more strangled that she thought it would have as relief flooded through her.
She rushed over to the girl, instantly taking in the physical appearance of her teammate, searching for any sign of injury while also examining the restraints strapping the girl to the chair. She tugged at the shackles, hoping that there would be enough slack in them for her to slip a blade underneath, but they were flesh against Ruby's skin. She wouldn't be able to cut them off without also injuring Ruby.
"We need to get you out of here, somehow…"
"B-Blake?" Ruby asked hesitantly, eyes opening only partially, as if afraid of what she might see. Once Ruby saw that it was, in fact, Blake, her eyes flew open entirely.
"Blake!" she exclaimed in terror. "S-stay away from me! They did something to me!"
"What are you talking about?" Blake was concerned now as she redoubled her assessment of her teammate, looking for anything to explain Ruby's fear.
"I-I don't know," Ruby replied, voice quavering. "They injected me with something…"
"Injected…" Blake looked at the crook of the girl's arm, spotting a barely visible red dot where a needle had been inserted. A sedative, maybe?
"Ruby, listen to me," Blake said as she knelt down in front of Ruby, looking the younger girl directly in the eyes. "Do you feel ok? Normal?"
Ruby bit her lip in deliberation before slowly shaking her head yes.
"Do you think you can walk?"
Ruby nodded again, with less hesitation this time.
"Ok, see? You're just fine. We have to get you out of here now. There's a certain bossy heiress waiting for you, and I doubt she'll very much appreciate us dawdling."
Ruby perked up immeasurably at the mention of Weiss and nodded her head again, this time with excitement.
"Good. Ren!" Blake called back to the hunter standing watch by the door. "Do any of the guards have keys on them?" Ren began checking pockets in the hallway as Blake turned her attention back to Ruby.
"I can think of two girls who are going to be very excited to see you," she said, drawing an enormous smile onto Ruby's face.
Just then, a heavy ring of keys hit the floor beside her. Quickly scooping them into her hands, she began trying each one in the lock around one of the girl's wrists.
"Is Weiss mad at me?" Ruby asked nervously as Blake feverishly searched for the right key.
She couldn't help but laugh at Ruby's worried tone.
"Are you kidding me?" she asked as she swung past another useless key. "She's mad at everyone but you."
Finally, one of the keys slid easily into the lock. Holding her breath, she gave it a slight turn, exclaiming happily as she heard a soft click. Freeing one wrist, she quickly moved to the remaining locks, unbinding each one in turn.
Once free, Ruby bounced out of the chair, gently rubbing the marks on her wrists where the restraints had just been cutting into her skin.
"Lead the way!" the brunette exclaimed as her boundless energy returned in droves. Blake grinned as she raced out of the room with Ruby and Ren in tow, reversing her directions from earlier as they flew back to the hanger at record speed. Of course, record speed for she and Ren was nowhere close to how fast Ruby wanted to go, but the brunette stuck close to them in order not to get lost.
Nearing the last turn back into the hanger, the sounds of the still raging battle reached their ears. No longer willing to wait for them, Ruby flashed ahead, leaving a long trail of swirling red petals in her wake.
Blake and Ren pushed themselves as fast as they could, sprinting into the hanger seconds later. They discovered massive amounts of bodies strewn about, with their teammates still fighting relentlessly. One of the Paladins lay in a heap of metal on the ground, still smoldering from what looked to be a fist-sized hole that had been drilled through its chest.
Blake watched in mild amusement as she saw Ruby wrapped around Weiss, before the speedster pulled back and gave her girlfriend a quick kiss right in the middle of battle. Weiss was so happy, she couldn't even attempt to scold the girl as she continued firing glyphs towards the guards and Paladins in front of them without even looking. Ruby then raced over to Yang, receiving a quick high-five from her sister before she effortlessly pulled Crescent Rose off of Yang's back.
Blake and Ren rushed forward just as Crescent Rose began snapping into place. She could feel the morale in the room lifting now that their leader was back in their midst.
Their mission had been successful. Now, it was just for the slight matter of getting out of here alive…
Taking the ship back would be impossible because it looked like it had taken one too many missiles in the last several minutes. They would need to find another ride out of here.
But with both teams now at full power, they were charged and ready to rip through the crowds in front of them.
However, the guards began falling back at that moment, backing up towards the walls while giving the huntsmen a wide berth around the hanger floor. Her teammates looked around in surprise, not pursuing any further as the guards continued to stand down with the giant robots following suit.
An eerie silence fell over the hanger, broken only by their labored breathing and the occasional sound of a piece of equipment falling to the ground.
Blake felt one of her ears flick as the hairs on her arm stood on end when a familiar feeling passed over her. She began frantically scanning the room, foreboding filling her mind.
The guards directly in front of them suddenly parted, letting someone pass through.
And then they saw them…
Cinder Fall, clad in a familiar flaming dress, her hips swinging alluringly with that smug smirk still frozen on her lips. She hadn't changed at all since they had last seen her, still oozing confidence and malicious intent.
But beside the fiery demon strode a tall Faunus man, familiar to Blake in every way, shape, and form.
Adam Taurus.
Her heart broke as her eyes took in his appearance – traditional black trench coat billowing behind him, Grimm mask firmly in place, with a leer playing upon his lips.
She hadn't wanted to believe that he could have anything to do with this, but there he was. She had truly believed that he had changed when he had come to her at Beacon, that he was no longer the ruthless mercenary he once had been. She was so terribly, terribly naïve…
Blake felt a warm presence by her side, realizing that Yang was now standing shoulder to shoulder with her as they stared towards the enemies they had been fighting for quite some time now. She could feel fire threatening to explode out of her partner as daggers were aimed towards the Faunus man. Of course, Adam only smirked at the sight.
"Mmm…we're truly honored to have some of Beacon's finest visit us today," Cinder began with a nod of her head in fake respect.
"And I see you've even managed to free your captive leader…" Cinder looked towards Ruby and sent the brunette a playful wink, smirk growing wider when she saw Weiss wrap a protective arm around Ruby's shoulder and pull her backwards a step.
Cinder's eyes scanned over the rest of them quickly, sizing them each up in turn until her eyes came to a rest upon Blake.
"Ah…Miss Belladonna…it is good to see you've made it as well. You were supposed to be the first one here, of course, but someone managed to mess that up…"
Adam let out a low growl as Blake looked at Cinder in confusion.
"What do you mean I was supposed to be the first one here?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her, even though she knew not to engage in wordplay with the talented criminal.
The question made the fiery woman light up in excitement as she clapped her hands together in front of her chest, sending several sparks flying off in all directions.
"Oh! I think I'll let Adam explain that part to you. That will be much more entertaining," she cooed gleefully as she took a step back and motioned for Adam to continue. "Go ahead, tell her the truth. It's not like any of them will be making it out of here, anyway."
As Adam took one step forward, Blake felt Yang's muscles twitching beside her. She could tell that her partner was on the verge of rushing forward to attack the Faunus man. Sticking out her hand slightly, Blake briefly touched Yang's hand to get her attention. Looking into the crimson eyes for a single second, she smiled at her partner.
There was nothing for her to worry about. No matter what Adam said, she would stay by Yang's side.
"Hello, Blake," Adam said, voice low and gruff. The familiarity of it made goose bumps rise along her arms.
She glared at him, not willing to dignify him with a response, only wanting answers.
"I see that someone's a little frosty today," he commented with a smirk before continuing.
"We've developed a lovely new product. Through some miracle of science, it grants you control of another person. Lowers their inhibitions to doing what you direct, something like that." Adam waved his hand as if it were much too boring to explain in any more detail.
"When the first trial was ready for a test run, Cinder was kind enough to allow me to pick the first target. And…I asked myself…who better than my old partner…Blake Belladonna?"
She felt shivers run down her spine as Adam sneered her name, understanding for the first time the true extent of his loathing for her.
"We tried it as an aerial spray first. So…I showed up at Beacon with the scent on me. And…it was amazing, Blake. I think you would really appreciate the magnificence of it. You were like putty. In my complete control. It was too easy to convince you to abandon your team and leave with me."
He started laughing, clearly fond of the memory as Blake felt her heart ripping into pieces when she realized what a lie she had been living for three years.
"Even when she," he tilted his head towards Yang, "came running out after you, trying to convince you to stay, spewing all of those pitiful emotions everywhere. You still left! It was one of the most cold-hearted things I've ever seen, and all curtesy of this simple drug…"
He had drugged her. He had tricked her into leaving her team…Beacon…Yang…that had never been her decision, after all. Her free will…he had taken it from her.
And she hated him for that.
He had been her family when she had none…he had been like a brother to her, teaching her how to survive in a world that could be unbelievably cruel to just a small child. She had saved his life just as many times as he had saved hers. And even after she had left him standing there on the Schnee Dust Company's train, she had missed him. She had worried about his safety.
"Why didn't you keep me on it then? How did I leave?" she spit at him, feeling her anger surging just as much as she felt the temperature increasing from the person standing beside her.
Adam merely chuckled and looked back at Cinder apologetically.
"Well, one of the side effects was that sometimes you became…uncontrollably aggressive and unpredictable. We went to a warehouse to pick up some information one time, and you nearly leveled it after someone accidentally stepped on your foot. It also seemed to dull some of your more fine-tuned senses, which was really unfortunate. So, we decided to keep you on a low dose, set up a fake living situation, and keep you docile until we had the real stuff ready."
"We tried several more versions on you, but they all had the same effect. It just figures that right when we were almost done, your pesky partner shows up again. I came back here and suggested that we bring you in right away, but as I was getting permission, you were leaving."
He sighed heavily. That was clearly the part of the story he liked least.
"Cinder decided that we should pick up another huntress to test the final product on, and since she has always had an…affinity…for Ruby Rose, we kidnapped her from your big event. Of course, now we have eight test subjects, so it all worked out perfectly in the end."
"Like hell you're testing anything on us," Yang growled as uncontrolled flames burst out of her fingertips. The next instant, she shot forward, leveling a punch at Adam's sneering face.
"Yang!" Blake called out, but it was already too late to stop the girl.
Yang nearly landed her first punch, but Adam blocked the blow at the very last second. He blocked the second and third attacks more easily, until she managed to feint and land her forth attack, a short kick, right into his knee.
As he grunted in pain, Cinder finally stepped forward and threw a giant ball of fire in Yang's direction. The brawler was forced to turn her attention towards Cinder in order to dodge the attack, allowing Adam to grab ahold of her arms and pull her roughly into a stranglehold. Yang gave out a small yelp before she was silenced by one of Adam's arms pulling up against her throat, while the other arm was wrapped firmly around the girl's stomach, pinning her arms inflexibly to her sides.
Blake had started to move forward to help her partner, but seeing the precarious situation Yang was now in, she halted her steps. Adam could easily snap Yang's neck before she got close enough to free the girl.
"Feisty, aren't we?" he huffed out as Yang continued to struggle in his grasp.
"Why don't you give them a little demonstration?" Cinder spoke up from beside him, disdainfully observing Yang's futile battle.
Adam nodded towards one of the soldiers, who disappeared from view for several seconds before reappearing, syringe in hand. He rushed forward and jabbed the needle roughly into Yang's shoulder, emptying its contents into her bloodstream.
The room stilled as everyone's attention was now focused on the blonde, who was still struggling within Adam's hold.
"Stop fighting me," he ordered the girl.
Blake felt her heart roar into overdrive as she watched her partner fighting Adam less and less. Yang's eyes were flashing from crimson to lilac and back again as she fought against the drug that had been forced into her system. But slowly, the brawler's muscles relaxed.
When Yang looked back up at Blake, her eyes were a steady lilac.
Adam released a now compliant Yang, who softly rubbed her neck before turning and giving Adam a small smile of gratitude.
"There you go…" Adam said appreciatively as Yang lost all of her fight. "You're going to fight for me now, aren't you, Yang?"
"Of course," the blonde responded matter-of-factly, as if that were the most obvious answer in the world.
"Even against your old partner?" Adam questioned.
Yang turned and regarded Blake momentarily, eyes devoid of all of their usual character.
"Who, Blake?" the blonde inquired before giving him a small shrug in response. "Sure, if you want me to."
Her heart fell as Adam began laughing, which only caused Yang to smile at him in pride for having caused him happiness.
"I really can't blame you for falling in love with her, Blake. She truly is beautiful," he continued with a chuckle as Yang turned and sauntered up to him with a sultry grin.
"You're not bad looking yourself, handsome," she replied flirtatiously as she leaned in closer to the man.
Adam shot Blake a wink over the blonde's head.
"Amazing, isn't it?"
Blake swallowed, finding her throat to be exceptionally dry. She certainly didn't know if she would describe it as 'amazing,' but it definitely seemed to be working.
Her blood began to boil as she watched Yang reach up and run a hand through Adam's spiky hair before letting it fall to a rest on the back of his neck. He looked at Blake once again with a triumphant smile as Yang wrapped both arms around his neck and pulled her face closer to his.
She was sure there wasn't a single piece of her heart left which had not been crushed into dust at that moment.
He had won.
He had already proven that he could ruin Blake's life, destroying her relationship with her team and the person she cared for most in the world. And then, when she had finally broken free of him, he was proving that he could take Yang away from her, in front of her very eyes.
"Yang, snap out of it!" Ruby yelled towards her sister, but it only caused Yang's eyes to flash red as she spun her head towards them in annoyance.
Ruby immediately shrank back to Weiss' side. After regarding her sister hostilely for several more seconds, Yang turned back to Adam, still simmering as she stood on her tip toes to whisper in his ear.
"You know…I think you made a mistake, choosing Blake first…"
Blake took the words like a knife to the chest, already wishing that she could clear them from her memory.
Adam arched an eyebrow at the blonde curiously. With their faces now merely inches apart, they were practically breathing in the same air.
"And why is that?" he asked softly as he leaned in a centimeter closer.
"Because she has a very protective partner!"
Yang lit up like a fireball as she shouted the words directly into his face.
Adam had no time to react as Yang used her grip on the back of his neck to yank his head down, just as she brought her knee forcefully up. Her kneecap connected squarely on his jaw with a sickening crack, sending him crashing backwards onto the floor. He howled in pain as he grasped his jaw, writhing on the ground as he attempted to regain his feet.
Yang was already rushing towards him, threatening to land even more blows while he was still down. Seeing this, Cinder stepped in, throwing up a wall of flames separating the two and forcing Yang to halt her advance.
Unafraid, Ruby rushed forward and grabbed Yang's arm to drag her away from danger, as Yang was oblivious to everything as she shouted at the Faunus on the ground, jabbing a finger harshly towards him.
"I will hunt you down. And I will make you pay for this! NO ONE messes with Blake like that!"
Dragging himself up to his feet, Adam and Cinder backed away. He had recovered some of his composure as he glanced towards Blake, still looking quite satisfied with himself even as he touched one hand gingerly to his jaw.
"Well, that was quite fun, wasn't it?" Cinder said as she allowed her flames to dissipate. "But now, why don't we get to the part where you all surrender?"
She nodded towards the soldiers and the message was clear: the battle was back on.
However, there was a surprise in store for all of them this time as a large explosion rocked the base. Everyone in the hanger looked up in time to see the hanger door being ripped upwards and flown out of the way. Several airships were already descending down the tunnel towards them.
Help had finally arrived.
Cinder scowled at the sight, eyes narrowed as she calculated the best plan of action now that the tables had been turned. She let out a noise in irritation before turning her attention back to the huntsmen standing before her.
"Ruby…why don't you be a dear and make sure no one follows us out?" she purred as she began stepping away from them.
Weiss snarled, sending a block of ice Cinder's way that was easily dispatched with a wall of flames.
With one final smirk, Cinder turned and began walking away with Adam trailing behind her.
"Hell no," Yang growled as she began stalking forward. But she was forced to stop when Ruby stepped in front of her, slamming the tip of Crescent Rose into the floor as she blocked Yang's path.
Silver eyes glared at them menacingly as they all stared at Ruby in shock.
"Ruby, what are you doing?" Yang demanded angrily.
"Following orders," the girl replied, voice cold and lifeless as her eyes dared them to try to pass.
Blake watched Adam disappear down a hallway over Ruby's head, feeling her insides smoldering in rage.
All those years he had stolen from her. All that time taken away from her team, the feelings she had hurt, trust lost, hearts broken…all for this? She had been their experiment, their test subject?
She couldn't let him just get away.
"Ruby…" Weiss said calmly, as if speaking to an excitable child. She took one step closer to her girlfriend as the soldiers around them tensed themselves for battle.
"We can't just let them get away. We have to stop them."
Weiss took another ginger step and reached out a hand towards Ruby. The brunette watched her hand suspiciously, allowing it to creep closer and closer to her shoulder.
In a flash, Ruby yanked Crescent Rose from the ground and swung it in Weiss' direction, narrowly missing the heiress as she jumped backwards just in the nick of time.
"Stay back!" Ruby yelled at them, holding her scythe at the ready behind her back.
"We have to fight her," Yang whispered. "We have to subdue her…or she could disappear after them."
Blake realized that Yang was right. Fight Ruby and somehow pin her down…then they could get this drug out of her. But if they didn't engage the brunette…she could fly out of here after Cinder and Adam.
"Ok, Ruby Rose," Weiss shouted as the commotion in the hanger became deafening from the shouts of soldiers and the airships dropping in from above. "I'm not losing you again!"
Ruby merely smirked at the impending challenge.
"Follow my lead," Weiss yelled to the rest of them as they began fighting soldiers and dodging missiles once more. "I know all her moves. You guys look for an opportunity to trip her up. And DON'T HURT HER."
Weiss rushed at Ruby and the two were instantly engaged in a ferocious battle. Yang and Team JNPR joined in as they attempted to somehow lock Ruby up.
Blake saw her opportunity, hesitating for just a second before she decided to take it. She slipped away from the group while Ruby was distracted, summoning her clones to confuse the soldiers as she catapulted over them and raced down the hallway she had just seen Adam disappear down.
She sprinted through the hallway. She could smell him…she could follow his scent still lingering in the air. At the end of the hallway, she opened the door he had just passed through, finding a staircase. She bounded up the short flight of steps and yanked open the door, finding herself in a second hanger room. This one was just big enough for the single airship presently whirring to life, undoubtedly Cinder's personal getaway vehicle.
"Adam!" she screamed at his back when she spotted him and Cinder walking towards the vessel. He paused and turned around, an amused expression on his face when he saw her standing there, panting slightly in exhaustion.
She drew Gambol Shroud, holding her weapon out in front of her in a clear sign of challenge.
"You're just going to run away like a coward?" she sneered towards him, knowing that he had far too much pride to let her get away with calling him a coward in front of Cinder.
Adam glanced backwards towards the brunette, silently seeking her permission.
Cinder merely shrugged her shoulders in disinterest and replied, "Kill her, but make it quick."
With Cinder's permission, he drew his sword and began stalking back towards Blake, murder in his eyes.
"You should have let us go, Blake," he hissed as he approached her.
Her muscles stiffened in anticipation as he drew closer to her. She steadily observed his composure, waiting for the twitch in his right shoulder that would signify an impending attack.
Focusing all of her attention forward, she finally saw it: a slight tremor in his shoulder as his hand grasped his weapon a little more tightly. Adam dashed towards her, slashing upward with his weapon as he flew by her. She spun out of the way just in time, now remembering just how quick of a swordsman he was.
He smirked as he turned back around, tossing his sword quickly between his hands before sprinting towards her once again.
She blocked his first attack as he cut down towards her head, the second came towards her side, then towards her neck. She blocked each with Gambol Shroud, feeling the reverberations of metal clanging together ripple through her arms. He was strong, much stronger than she was. Blocking his blows like this would wear her down quickly.
Sensing an opening in between his attacks, she kicked forward with one leg, trying to catch him in the kneecap. As he jumped backwards, she managed to lasso one of his hands with the end of Gambol, yanking the man forcefully forward. Unprepared, he lost his footing, tumbling towards her. She leapt over him, slicing down as one of her shadow clones did the same. He managed to block the attacks, but just barely as he lept back to his feet.
Now on the offensive, she sprinted back towards him with increasing speed, raising her weapon to attack. Reaching him, she slashed at him vigorously, gaining speed with every successive swing as her shadow clones leapt back and forth around him. He deflected each attempted blow, taking a step backwards with each one as he was attempting to keep up with all of the weapons flying towards him.
She could feel herself beginning to wear down, but she couldn't stop now. The anger boiling inside of her was pushing her on.
Seeing another opening, she jumped quickly to the right and sliced towards his arm. He blocked it a second too late and her weapon grazed his skin, leaving a sizeable gash in his clothing as Gambol cut across his left shoulder.
He looked down at the wound in surprise, growling as his blood began to flow through the material. Now that he was angry, she knew that she needed to go back on the defensive. She summoned more clones as she spun away from him, trying to cause some confusion before he counterattacked.
He cut through her clones easily, causing them to disappear as his sword passed through them. Blake created a new one as soon as one had been destroyed, hoping to keep Adam confused as he tried to pin her location down. He could hardly see her through the blur of shadows being created by her clones. At the same time, she flew over him, jumped in front of him, tumbled around him, over and over again.
He growled in frustration before he spun in a complete circle, cutting through four of her clones in one swoop. As soon as the tip of his sword had reached the last of her clones, she threw out Gambol Shroud, catching ahold of his hand once more.
Confusion flooded her when he grinned, evilly, maniacally…as he caught Gambol's ribbon as if he had been expecting it all along.
She realized her mistake too late as he yanked her towards him by the end of her own weapon. She released Gambol in an effort to keep herself from being pulled completely towards him, seeing her weapon go sliding off behind Adam as she fell into a tumble and prepared her legs to drive herself up over Adam's head, summoning more clones to distract him.
But as she uncoiled her legs, muscles releasing their stored energy as she attempted to push herself out of harm's way, she felt Adam's hand roughly grab onto her left shoulder.
The next second, an agonizing pain shot through her body. Looking down, she found Adam's sword plunged through her chest.
With his left hand still gripping her shoulder, he pulled her roughly forward until his sword had passed through her all the way to the hilt. She cried out in pain as she felt the blade tearing through her body, clutching at his coat futilely in an effort to keep herself standing as her legs buckled.
Her head was nearly resting upon his shoulder as she fought to breathe, being held on her feet only by his sword and her hands weakly clutching the collar of his coat.
A familiar smell…his smell…invaded her nose, reminding her of days spent in the forest, learning how to fight, learning how to survive.
She felt him lean close as he whispered in her ear:
"This time, I get to leave you for dead…"
He removed his sword and turned to follow an expressionless Cinder to the airship, never bothering to look back.
Blake immediately crumpled to the ground, falling onto her back as she heard the airship fly out of the hanger. She tentatively touched the wound with one shaking hand, pulling her fingers away to find them covered in blood. She could feel her life spilling from the hole in her chest, hear the blood hissing through her veins quickly…far more quickly than it should ever be doing. Her chest was on fire as her body reeled from the internal damage, but her limbs had already begun to go numb as less and less blood circulated within her.
Drawing a labored breath, she could feel the warm liquid beginning to pool in her lungs. Each successive breath became more and more challenging to draw. Her heart was beating rapidly as it tried to force more blood to her brain so that she could continue functioning, but most of it was lost along the way.
She had been injured in battle many times before, and sometimes very seriously. But she knew that this was bad. This was very, very bad.
"Blake!"
She heard Yang's voice calling to her, but she couldn't summon the energy to tilt her head to see her partner, forced to stare up at the dull unfinished ceiling of the hanger bay. But then she was there, standing above her.
Yang kneeled down by her side, pressing both of her palms down firmly on Blake's chest in an attempt to stem the bleeding. Blake groaned as the effort only increased her pain.
"Y-yan…"
She fought to utter her partner's name, not knowing if it came out as more than a strangled gasp for air.
The pressure on her chest suddenly disappeared as Yang vanished from Blake's field of vision. Blake felt terror consume her when she could no longer see her partner. She begged for Yang to come back, for the blonde not to leave her side.
Seconds later, Yang's face came back into view, lilac eyes brimming with tears as she stared down at Blake.
Her heart was growing exceptionally cold as the rest of her senses began to leave her. The pain was being replaced by a comforting cold…her vision was beginning to fade to darkness. She could see Yang's lips moving, but could no longer hear her voice over the loud buzzing that had taken over her ears.
She understood what Yang was trying to say though…that everything would be alright, that Blake would be just fine, she would be good as new in no time…
But Blake already knew the truth.
She was dying.
Panic and regret gripped her when she finally realized that these were the last few seconds she would spend with Yang…that she had never have the chance tell her partner how she really felt.
Her diminishing eyesight began wavering as her eyes filled with tears.
Hopefully, Yang knew…hopefully, she already knew…
Drawing another ragged breath, a blink cleared the tears away so that she could see Yang's lilac eyes staring down at her, filled with her own tears and anguish. But in those eyes, Blake found a sense of relief from her sorrow.
Yang did know. And she felt the same.
'It's ok,' Blake wanted to tell her partner, if only she had been able to force the words from her flooded lungs. 'Everything will be ok…I'll always be watching over you.'
But she couldn't make a sound…and she wouldn't be there for much longer. The cold was already reaching up to her mind, beckoning her to join it in rest.
She struggled as hard as she could to keep the chilling tendrils at bay, wanting to stay there, looking up into those lilac eyes, for as long as possible. She focused every last ounce of her remaining energy on those beautiful orbs staring down at her, finding her own personal peace hidden there as her vision began to fade away.
And then there was nothing.