Blake shifted her hold on the weapon she had taken on impulse from the stand. Mentally, she noted that it was a chain-scythe and ran through the appropriate handling motions in her mind. She was probably going to have to fight, which meant she had only a few precious seconds to prepare.

So much for keeping a low profile.

"Weiss, stay near me, okay?" Blake asked, reloading the clip and sheathing the blade. This weapon's sheath was already potent enough. She didn't want to hurt anyone if she didn't have to. Blake reached out her hand to grab Weiss' wrist. "I'm going to get you out of here."

"Don't touch me," Weiss snapped, retracting her arm. Weiss then took her rapier in hand. "I can protect myself," she declared as she thrust her rapier out, unleashing a fury of ice shards upon a row of Faunus.

Blake's hand burned where Weiss had pulled away. Damn it. Damn damn damn it. Blake was going to have to fix this. A shrill angst vibrated inside her, opening the door to endless pathways - all leading to the same hopeless conclusion. What if Weiss sold her? What if Weiss kicked her out? That wasn't even the root of the problem, if Blake was honest with herself.

What if she lost her only friend?

Was Weiss even her friend?

She couldn't lose what little faith Weiss had in her.

Now Blake was angry. Who did these Faunus think they were? She went through the same crappy lives that they had. That didn't give them the right to ruin other people's lives.

A Faunus with a chainsaw charged at Blake, Blake smirked and shadow-jumped away. Then, she ran at him, cutting with her sheathed weapon, using that momentum to jump and flip around behind the Faunus. Then, she hit the poor soul once again in the back. This was Blake, cool, calculated and precise.

Blake then focused her eyes on the next target. This time, she discharged her rifle, the momentum throwing the bladed gun at a Faunus in the distance and knocking the target out. Pulling nimbly on the rope, the gun discharged once again, propelling the gun in the opposite direction to take out a target behind Blake. Pulling the weapon back, she sheathed it and charged at the nearest body.

God, she was angry.

"Blake!"

Blake jumped and kicked, pushing off one Faunus to charge at another.

She was so angry.

"Blake!"

Blake could duel-wield this weapon, she realized, unsheathing the blade and holding the sheath in her opposite hand. This could work.

"Blake stop!"

Wait, what? Blake froze.

"Blake," Weiss came up to the Faunus with an furious expression. "They aren't shooting at us, they're just after the weapons." Weiss informed in a prickly tone, slightly out of breath. "Just stay out of their way," she snapped.

That was when Blake realized most of the Faunus were grabbing weapons and escaping with their loot back into the shadows. There was hardly any fighting going on and the gunshots were sporadic but few and far between. The patrons had ran out of the scene with their metaphorical tails between their legs as soon as the first gunshots were heard. Several weapon-smiths and shop-owners had vacated their stands as well, leaving only a few dedicated people fighting the horde of Faunus.

When did that happen?

"Pyrrha, Neptune," Weiss called out. "Come on, let's get out of here." Weiss instructed, before turning around to head back the way they came. A harried Faunus clashed shoulders with the angel in their hurry to escape, but didn't return to engage with Weiss.

They really were just after the weapons.

Blake followed silently, her fists clenched around the blade and rifle in her hands. She was screwed. She was so screwed. She shouldn't have been fighting. She —.

In the corner of her eye, she saw a masked figure with flaming red hair contrasting the unmistakable brown of pointy horns.

Adam?

He wasn't as scrawny as he was when Blake last saw him.

The figure leapt out, charging recklessly — a trait Adam had always possessed. He wielded a simple dagger and wore a smile Blake had always wanted to see him wear. He wore an expression of peace instead of the expression of complete discontent and disregard Adam always had. It as as though he was enjoying this.

Blake's relief at discovering Adam was alive and well dissipated upon realization that Adam was charging at Weiss.

"Weiss!" Blake called out, rushing forward with her two blades.

Metal clashed against metal.

Blake kicked Adam in the stomach with her knee then turned to the side to elbow the boy in the chest, causing Adam to drop his dagger.

When Adam looked up and met Blake's eyes, a wave of fond recognition washed over his eyes, Adam smiled. Then he jumped back, stealing a weapon from the katana stand before running away.

Neptune sprang after him but a call from Weiss halted him in his tracks.

"He attacked you!" Neptune exclaimed, confused.

"And he took Wilt and Blush," Pyrrha noted, weapon ready in hand.

"Leave him," Weiss responded, "He's not worth it." Weiss turned back around, "Let's just get out of —"

Weiss was interrupted by an enraged voice coupled with the ring of metal sliding against metal. "There's one behind you," the voice said.

Blake recognized it at the katana shopkeeper's voice. Immediately, Blake looked over her shoulder. There was no one paying attention to them. The few Faunus that were left were scampering away to safety with their bags loaded with weapons. Blake turned back to face the shopkeeper only to find him glaring menacingly right back at her.

Oh.

Blake understood then. He was talking about her.

"Filthy beasts," the shopkeeper growled, wielding his sword with both hands and raising it in one swift motion to her neck.

A bell chime. Then ice rose from beneath the ground to capture and envelop the offending weapon. Blake cast surprised eyes at Weiss. It was Weiss right? Weiss saved her?

"The hell?" The shopkeeper growled, pulling at his weapon.

"She's mine," Weiss declared coolly, strutting over to place herself between Blake and the shopkeeper. She twirled her rapier around in her hand — the threat made absolutely clear.

"Well she's a terrorist and a thief!" the shopkeeper yelled, gesturing with his chin at the weapon in Blake's hands. "That's one of mine." The shopkeeper turned his gaze back to Blake. "She attacked me and stole it from me."

Blake immediately dropped the weapon. The pieces clattered to the ground in an angry mess. Blake attacked him? Blake did nothing of the sorts. She never... she just grabbed it in self defence. "I —", Blake started, looking at Weiss, needing to explain, needing Weiss to understand.

"Shut up," Weiss barked. Then, to the shopkeeper, "I'll be very sure to deal with her when I get back," she spoke in an authoritative tone. "Trust me, I want to deal with her myself," Weiss' voice dropped volumes, her gaze darkening.

Blake shivered at the tone.

"I'll also reimburse you for the weapon she stole," Weiss continued.

Blake's heart deflated at those words. She never stole. It was self-defence! Her mind spun around chaotically. She was going to be punished. Dread as heavy as stone settled in Blake's stomach. She remembered very clearly being punished. It was never pleasant. It was torturous and everlasting. Sometimes, scars that had long since faded still ached from just a sliver of remembrance. Blake's fingers unconsciously fingered the collar around her neck.

Please, no.

"100 lien should do it, right?" Weiss asked, gesturing at Neptune who quickly took out the money and handed it to the shopkeeper.

"That's — yes, that's fine," the shopkeeper said, taking the money.

"We'll be on our way then," Weiss declared, beginning to walk away.

"Right, make sure you watch it," the shopkeeper snarled, pointing a finger at Blake. "You don't want it to escape."

Weiss smiled a cold smile before casting a cruel glance at Blake. "Trust me, she wouldn't even dare."

The stone made itself comfortable in Blake's stomach. It seemed, it was there to stay.