Again

Blake heard a scuffing noise behind her, and her head shot up. That hadn't been Yang. She spun around to confront the unwelcome visitor, hand darting to Gambol Shroud on her back. She froze when she saw the barrel of a gun pointed right between her eyes. The fox faunus holding it glared at her, bushy tail flicking in agitation.

"Who are you?" he demanded. Blake remained silent, staring at him impassively. He took another step closer, waving the pistol threateningly. "I said, who-mmmf!" He struggled as a hand shot out from the shadows behind him and clamped down over his mouth. Another placed itself at the base of his skull, and they yanked abruptly in opposite directions. His neck twisted with a hideous cracking sound, and he fell lifelessly to the floor. Yang emerged from the darkened hallway, stepping coldly over the corpse.

Golden eyes glanced down at the unfortunate man's body. "You didn't have to kill him," she said lightly.

"He was in the way," came the gruff reply, and Blake let it drop. This wasn't really the time to be worried about this kind of thing anyway. They were getting closer to the hub of activity, to Roman, and therefore the number of enemies was steadily increasing. Moving unseen by way of the rooftops had become an unviable option, and they were left darting between half-collapsed buildings and dilapidated houses. Currently, they were standing in the entrance hall of a little two story home that was still mostly intact. Form the glance she had gotten of the whole thing while she was darting down the narrow alley to the side door, the only notable damage had been a hole in the roof.

The faunus who had caught her unaware must have come from the kitchen behind her. She wasn't sure how she had missed him, but she remembered seeing a cellar door in the corner of the linoleum-floored room. Maybe he had been down there. Either way, it didn't really matter. Blake silently congratulated herself on having the foresight to tell Yang to follow a bit behind her. If she hadn't, they both would have been taken by surprise, and although they could have dealt with it, there was a very large chance they would not have been able to keep it quiet. Their stealth was the biggest thing they had going for them so far, and Blake didn't want to risk it.

She moved into the living room, sauntering over to the large bay window set in the street-side wall. She cautiously pulled aside ruined curtains, mostly just filthy rags at this point, and peered outside. Their immediate area looked clear. No patrolling units were walking the street, and she couldn't spot any scouts in any of the buildings across the street. Blake glanced up the road in the direction that they were moving in and finally saw what she could only presume was their goal.

Tucked in the back of the village was a large, wooden structure. It looked like a gigantic warehouse of some sort, easily ten times the size of the house she and Yang were crouched in. It was a hub of activity, people moving in and out, carrying random crates and boxes of varying sizes through two massive doors.

"Yang," she called softly, motioning the blonde over. She slid into position at the other side of the window. "That's where we're heading," the faunus said while pointing to the warehouse.

Yang's eyes narrowed as she watched several crates emerge from within the structure, carried on a wheeled cart. "What are they doing?"

Blake shook her head. "I've got no idea, but that is definitely their main post." Golden eyes scanned the environment, looking for a suitable path to get closer. Approaching from the front would be suicide. There were four more houses on each side of the street, and then a large open field of what may have once been an orchard of sorts, if the rows of dead trees were anything to go by. On the right side of the clearing was a low, long building; stables, maybe. Not that she cared. It would serve as a decent cover to get close to the storehouse. "We'll move to behind that building," she pointed, and Yang followed her finger.

"That'll keep us out of sight, but what about the Grimm? I haven't seen any so far, so I can only assume he's got all of them holed up back there with him. They'll sense us in an instant."

"We don't have to worry about that." Yang gave her a questioning look. "I took care of that issue last year. They were using some type of pill to artificially infuse the Grimm with Aura, enslaving them to themselves. I destroyed the factory responsible for producing them." Upon seeing the incredulity on Yang's face, she continued, "I told you, I've been working with Ozpin for the sole purpose of bringing these guys down."

"You say you destroyed their ability to control Grimm, yet yesterday you said you've only scratched the surface."

Blake sighed and nodded. "This group…it's terrifying what they seem to be capable of. We've discovered they've been behind every major disaster or conflict of the last century, and no one ever even noticed. Not until us."

"They're that hard to find?"

"Yes, which is why we need Roman. He's the closest thing we have to an inside source. Even the slightest bit of information we could get out of him would be invaluable." She glanced back out the window. "We had better get going. Looks like they might be preparing to move out."

Yang didn't say a word, just moved out of the living room and to the front door, Blake shortly behind. She pulled the door opened slowly, trying to prevent the creaking groan that issued as the wood swung unevenly on rusted hinges. She stuck her head out, and found that the road was still clear. If they moved quickly they should be fine. Everyone at the warehouse was too busy to worry about the road, thankfully. She looked over her shoulder at her partner, jerking her head out the door. Yang nodded, and together they darted out and across the snow-covered dirt, dashing into the house opposite.

This one was little more than a shell, all but half on the front wall entirely gone. Scraps of wood were strewn about in haphazard piles. The next building in the line was squat, one story home, and they easily leapt on top of it. From there, they jumped through the hole in the next home's attic. Blake led them to the first floor and out through the back door. There was one more house between them and the orchard. After that, there was a small patch of open ground they had to cover before they made it the long structure, broken only by burnt tree trunks.

"You ready?" she whispered, and received only a nod in response. Blake sprinted out from cover, praying that no one spotted them as they cut through the field. Fortunately, they heard no yells of alarm, no sirens or gunfire, and they each skidded safely into the safety of the wooden building, which Blake now noticed was, in fact, stables. They took a moment to breathe, and Blake mused to herself. Things were going well. Very well, actually. That scared her. It was her experience that things only went this well when they were waiting for the absolute worst moment to go wrong.

Her eyes shifted to her partner, who had removed her right gauntlet so that she could readjust the bandage underneath. Blake found herself again wondering exactly what it hid. It had been there ever since she had first seen Yang after her return to Vale, so clearly it was something she had acquired during her disappearance. Yang, noticing her gaze, quickly slid her weapon back over her wrist and redeployed it, covering up the white gauze.

"Let's go," she growled, and Blake bit her lip to keep from blurting out some question like the previous day. She didn't need Yang turning hostile now. Instead, she lightly treaded down the corridor in between the two rows of stalls that once held horses. When she reached the other end, she peered around the doorframe, letting loose a small curse at what she saw.

Now that they were this close she could easily see that there were even more people than she had originally thought. A part of the area behind the warehouse was also visible to her now, and she could make out the outline of a large transport airship. Given the amount of people and supplies that were being moved, she guessed it wasn't the only one. As she watched, two faunus emerged from the building, pulling a large cart stacked with metal boxes. There was familiar logo picked out in a faded white on the side of several of them.

"Dust," She realized with a whisper.

"What?"

"That's Schnee Company Dust! All of it! Look at how much they have! They must have been stockpiling it all here. That's why Weiss could never find where it all went."

"Who cares?"

Blake turned to look at her, eyes wide. "Yang, do you realize what they could do with that much Dust?"

"I don't really care."

"Yang-"

"I don't care!" Yang hissed, glaring crimson at her. Blake shrunk back a bit, cowed by the sheer force. "Don't forget what we came here for, Blake. We're here for Roman. You can deal with the Dust in your own time."

Blake quashed the impulse to fire back. Fighting with Yang wouldn't help either of them at all right now, and she could see that there was no way to make the present Yang see the bigger picture. "Fine," she said flatly, eyes swinging back outside. "C'mon, it's clear." Without even waiting for a response she ran from the stables, taking slightly Aura-boosted jump to propel herself to the warehouse's roof. She landed silently. The same could not be said for her partner, whose boots thumped solidly as she touched down on the peeling shingles beside her. Blare sent her a quick glare, which she brushed off.

The words of someone beneath them reached her second set of ears, "The hell was that?" She froze, and clamped a hand around Yang's upper arm to make sure she did the same. The brawler jerked away, opening her mouth to say something, but Blake held up a finger, and she closed it again, albeit angrily.

There was another beat of silence in which Blake figured the men below were listening. Finally, another voice answered the first, "Probably just some birds or something. They get crazy big out here. Let's get this last shipment out. Boss wants us ready to go in fifteen."

There was a shuffling sound, and Blake breathed a small sigh of relief. She looked at Yang, pressed her finger to her lips, and then pointed at a large hole a little further along the roof. She nodded, and crept towards it, putting at least a small amount of effort into treading lightly, Blake noted with satisfaction. They reached the hole without any further incident, and both leaned over the edge.

Opened up beneath them was the warehouse, as huge as it had looked form the outside. People scurried about hurriedly, moving various pieces of equipment onto carts and out the doors. It must have been a sizeable operation, based upon all the activity they could see, but it was clearly at its end. The building was nearly empty, only a few remaining computers could be seen resting on collapsible tables set along the side wall. Old, moldy straw covered the floor wherever the snow that had fallen through the holes above hadn't laid.

"We're out in ten, everybody," a familiar voice called out, and into view strode Roman Torchwick. He looked almost exactly as Blake remembered him. Orange hair over one eye, cigar in mouth, emerald eyes narrowed. His white coat was lined with black fur to insulate from the biting cold, but other than that, his outfit remained unchanged, right down to the bowler on his head. Blake supposed being in deep hiding didn't give one a lot of chances to work on their wardrobe. As she watched he pointed his cane at a group of three faunus working on tearing down the last operational computer station. "You lot! Move it! I will leave you behind."

A soft rattle sounded from beside her, and Blake looked over to see Yang literally shaking. Her eyes were the darkest crimson she had ever seen, and her fists were clenched so tightly that her muscles trembled. The expression on her face was vicious, teeth bared in a feral snarl. Blake realized what was about to happen, and she reached out a hand, trying to grab her. She didn't make it in time, though, as Yang vaulted through the breech, hurtling toward the floor below.

The instant Yang saw him, everything went red.

Her blood boiled, and every single rational thought fled her mind. The agreement to keep him alive disappeared as sharp, molten anger flooded her system. She was vaguely aware that her body was shaking, but mind was too focused on the man beneath her to process the stress her rage was putting her through. The man responsible for her sister's death.

He killed her, a voice whispered in the back of her head.

Kill him.

Her body moved on its own, levering her over the edge. As she plummeted downward, she roared so loudly that it felt like her vocal chords were tearing, "ROMAN!"

The criminal spun around in surprise, visible eye going wide as it landed on the blonde girl soaring straight at him. He brought up Melodic Cudgel at the same time Yang brought down her fist. Ember Celica fired with a deafening boom and Yang slammed into the ground as the Roman stumbled backward, his guard broken. Not wasting a second, Yang's arms flew out to her sides, her weapons blasting her forward, where her right elbow planted deeply in Roman's abdomen. He was pitched backward, landing hard on his back and skidding into the far wall, where he coughed and gasped, trying to regain his breath.

Two faunus, who had been near their boss whenever Yang's assault had begun, snapped out of their stunned states, charging her from either side. She ducked the claws of the bear faunus that reached her first, sweeping her foot around and taking his legs out from under him, as he fell she planted her left fist in his face and straightened up, turning it into a vicious uppercut that immediately removed him from the conscious world. The dog faunus on the other swung at her with a short sword. Yang's other arm came up, batting aside the weapon with her gauntlet before her fist lashed out. Her hand clamped around the woman's throat, and Ember Celica unloaded a fistful of fiery buckshot point blank into her face, turning it into an unrecognizable mess.

Yang dropped the corpse to the ground and turned back to Roman, who was now pulling himself to his feet. He studied her cautiously, recognition dawning on his face.

"Well, hello there, blondie." Yang didn't say anything, merely putting her fists up and squaring herself. Roman continued unperturbed, "I gotta say, I did not expect to see you here. In fact, I wasn't really expecting to see you at all. I was kind of hoping you and Cinder had finished each other off, to be honest." Yang's eyebrow twitched. "But oh, it's been ages. You're not looking so good. Have you been taking care of yourself since that whole fiasco at Beacon? I heard about what happened." He sighed and shook his head. "Such a tragedy. She was so talented."

Yang snapped, letting loose an animalistic scream that caused several of the faunus to flinch, and pelted forward. Roman smirked and made a small motion with his hand. Three of his men leapt at Yang from behind. She had reacted just like he had wanted, focusing all of her attention of him. She would be dead before she even noticed. He allowed himself a small chuckle. "You shouldn't have come alone, blondie."

"She didn't."

There was a faint blur, and suddenly Blake solidified beside the three faunus, whose backs now all sported a long, deep gash. Gambol Shroud's sheath returned to its normal length as they all collapsed.

"Oh good," Roman said irritably, "the cat's here too." He leaned to the right, dodging Yang's fist, before hooking her shoulder with his cane and yanking, sending her sprawling to the floor behind him. His eye trained on Blake. "Hello, kitty," he greeted.

"Roman."

"I don't suppose you two will just leave me in peace?"

Blake shook her head. "You'll be coming with us this time."

Roman took a deep drag of his cigar before exhaling a mouthful of smoke. "I'm afraid that won't work for me. I have prior engagements, you see."

"You can tell us all about them later."

Roman opened his mouth to retort, but the sound of booted feet behind him made him twirl around, Melodic Cudgel interceding between himself and the fist soaring at him. Yang brought her knee up, aiming for his gut, but he tilted the cane, and pushed aside the attack with the end of it while he twisted around to her side. He pulled, and the hook of his weapon caught her around the throat. Roman flipped her over his shoulders and into the air. His aura flared a warning as Blake appeared behind him, sword already in motion. He ducked under the attack, spinning and swinging at her ribs. Gambol Shroud blocked the attack with a metallic clang.

"You can't really expect to win against the both of us, Roman," Blake commented.

"Oh, I don't," he replied with a smile. "Just her." He foot flashed up, slamming into Blake's guard and sending her skidding. "Get her," he commanded, and Blake was all at once beset on all sides by faunus soldiers.

Shit! The rest must have come in while we were distracted! She separated her weapon, parrying two attacks at once. She could handle this many enemies, but there was no way she would be able to help Yang if Roman proved too much, or stop her from killing him if it went the other way. From what she had seen so far, the former was the most likely.

"And now that that's dealt with," Roman said, turning around in time to narrowly avoid another fist. A second one followed soon after, which he neatly sidestepped. "Come now, blondie," he mocked as he lashed out with Cudgel, catching her in the side. "You were a lot stronger than this back then. What's happened, hmm?"

"I'll kill you!" she seethed angrily, aiming a right uppercut at his chin. He leaned back, and her knuckles met nothing. She fired her left gauntlet, throwing her torso into a quick spin, and bringing her elbow about in a harsh jab. Yet again, she was met by his cane, though. His arm was bracing it from behind, stopping her attack cold. He smirked, and Yang felt pain explode up her spine as his foot connected with the small of her back. She stumbled forward, vision swimming slightly.

Roman aimed and fired a blast from Melodic Cudgel. The shimmering projectile slammed into Yang and exploded, tossing her into the back wall. The old wood gave way with a reluctant splintering sound, and the brawler tumbled into the open field beyond. There were three large airships waiting there, engines already thrumming with energy. Those faunus that weren't engaged with Blake were climbing aboard, having secured away the last of the cargo but the few terminals left in the warehouse.

Yang climbed shakily to her feet, body aching and muscles screaming in pain. They weren't used to this kind of abuse, not anymore. She was out of shape, slower, weaker. None of this registered for her though, her mind still consumed by the inferno of her hate. Ember Celica blazed behind her, accelerating her straight at Roman, who had just stepped through the jagged hole she had left.

"Do you children never learn?" he said with a sigh.

She pulled back her fist for a punch, but Roman extended his cane, pressing it against her hand and stopping her arm from straightening. Before she could react, Melodic Cudgel darted upward, cracking her harshly in the temple. Stars exploded across her vision as she staggered away, right hand coming up to cradle her injury. Her head felt like it had been split open, and warm blood trickled against her fingers. Cloudy lilac eyes looked at Roman, but she couldn't seem to bring him into focus no matter how hard she tried. Yang fell to one knee, planting her let fist in the snow to try and hold herself up. Small clouds fogged in front of her face as her breath came in short, sharp gasps.

Get up! She screamed at herself internally. Kill him! But her body wouldn't respond. She had pushed herself too far, taken too much damage. If only she could still activate her semblance…

Roman brushed an unseen speck of dust from his shoulder. "Well, as fun as this has been, blondie, I fear we've reached the end." He took a drag from his cigar, before raising his cane, pointing it directly at her. "Give my regards to Red." A cluster of three shots shot from the end of the barrel, hurtling toward Yang at an alarming velocity.

She couldn't move, couldn't do anything but watch as her death roared toward her. Fuck…I couldn't do anything. Sorry, Ruby. And then another thought hit her as something clenched in her chest, one completely unbidden. I should have listened to Blake.

There was a blur, and something crashed into Yang from the side just before Roman's attack hit. She heard the explosion, felt the heat of the blast on her face, but felt none of the pain that should have accompanied it. She hit the snow as Roman made a small sound of annoyance.

"Must you always get in my way, kitty?"

Yang's eyes widened, snapping back to where she had been moments before. A very battered Blake stood there, glaring golden daggers at Roman. There were several lightly bleeding gashes decorating her person, and small traces of smoke rose from scorched clothing and burnt-red skin. Her breathing was shallow and ragged.

"Ooh, that one hurt, didn't it? I have to say, you look pretty drained; jumping that whole way must have really put a strain on your Aura. Killing the both of you probably wouldn't take very much right now, would it?" The remainder of the faunus began trickling out of the warehouse, several of them sporting fresh wounds or carrying unconscious comrades. Blake had given them a hell of a fight. Roman motioned, and Yang was surprised whenever they all started toward the airships. She was even more surprised when they started boarding them with seemingly no intent to return.

"That being said," Roman continued, drawing her attention back to him. "Underestimating you young ladies has never worked out well for me, and if I really don't have any time to spare. You've probably got reinforcements in the area, and I'd rather not give you the chance to stall for them." He walked to the nearest airship and climbed up the cargo ramp before to them. "And so I'll say my goodbyes here." His eye slid to Blake as the airship lifted off the ground. "You and little operative pals have been a huge pain for us, so if it's not too much trouble, could you just die here for me?" He reached down the front of his coat, and pulled out a small, thin whistle hanging on a chain around his neck. He pressed it to his lips and blew.

Yang's brow furrowed in confusion when she heard nothing. Beside her, Blake clamped her hands over her faunus ears, face screwed up in pain. Up above them, Roman dropped the metal cylinder back in his shirt and laughed lightly. "Good luck!" he called with a smile as the cargo door slid shut.

As if those words were the key, Yang suddenly found her body would move again. She bolted to her feet throwing punch after punch at the quickly receding bulk of Roman's vehicle. "ROMAN!" she screamed. "ROMAN!" Her fiery attacks did little more than scorch the airship's hull. There was a small series of soft, metallic clicks behind her, and she turned to see Blake throwing the transformed pistol half of Gambol Shroud into the air. When it reached the end of its range with the ribbon, she yanked backward, firing one solitary bullet. Yang thought she heard a soft ping as it hit the airship's metal surface, but she couldn't be sure.

And then they were gone, entirely out of range. He had gotten away.

Again.

Yang felt a wave of frustration and hopelessness surge up through her chest, and she screamed furiously, the sound echoing back repeatedly in the emptiness of the forest.

Blake collapsed to her knees, breaths still coming in short gasps. "Yang-" she was interrupted by a cough. She doubled over, her right arm wrapping around her stomach while her other supported her weight. The blonde was beside her in two steps. She crouched down beside her, eyes fading back to their normal lilac hue as she watched the faunus woman struggle to force more words out. "We-we can still," she winced and swallowed. "We can still get…him. I got a tracker on his-" another cough rattled through her chest, cutting off the rest of her sentence.

Yang's eyes were wide. "Blake…" What could she say? What should she say? Being concerned about another person's wellbeing was something she had long forgotten. And yet, here it was. Blake was injured, because of her, and Yang felt a horrible, twisting sinking in her gut. When she noticed the crimson stain leaking out from underneath Blake's hand on her abdomen, the feeling increased tenfold in intensity. "Blake, you're bleeding," she whispered, horrified. She reached out and gently pulled away the faunus' hand, cringing when she saw the ragged hole punched through her leather chest piece. "You've been shot."

Blake glanced at her. "No-big-deal," she hissed through teeth gritted in pain, each word punctuated by a gasping breath, "Just a-lucky-hit."

Yang knew better though. 'Lucky hits' didn't happen to Blake Belladonna. Not unless she was distracted by something, like trying to save her partner. It must have been whenever she had come to her rescue. As this registered in Yang's brain, Blake's eyes rolled up into her head, and her arm gave way. Yang caught her before her face struck the ground. "Blake?" she cried, worriedly. She rolled her over and gave her shoulders a slight shake, but the faunus didn't respond. "Blake!" she called again, fear lacing her voice. No, not again. Please not again. I don't want to lose another one. Her mind flew into a panic. What could she do? Blake was bleeding out, dying. She had to get help, somehow, had to get her out of here.

Before she could even begin to plan a way to do that, a low growl interrupted her train of thought. Her head snapped up, and she felt her blood freeze at the sight that awaited her.

Beowolves.

Everywhere.

Where did they come from? Why now? Roman's final words echoed in her ears. "That son of a bitch," she breathed. That whistle must have been some sort of call, almost like a dog whistle, out of range for her human ears. One Beowolf sniffed the air before snarling and charging her. "Fuck." She quickly slid into a stance. As the Grimm reached her, eyes glowing and teeth glinting, it was met with a fist straight to the top of its head, crushing it into the ground and shattering the bone white mask on its face.

Yang spun and extended her foot, heel connecting with another's neck that had tried to jump her from behind. It hit the ground and Yang sent a shot from Ember Celica after it. She barely dodged a swipe from the side, countering with a vicious uppercut that lifted the Grimm off its feet. Already her muscles were screaming in protest, pain pulsing through her system with every heartbeat. Sweat dripped down her forehead, her breathing heavy. She wouldn't be able to fight them all off, and she knew it.

She had just taken one's head clean off with a blast from Ember Celica when a set of claws dug into her back and rove their way from right shoulder to left hip. She bit back a cry as she stumbled. The Beowolf snarled before swiping with its other paw. Yang ducked underneath, slamming both of her hands into its gut and blowing a massive hole through the beast. Exhausted, it was all she could do to not pass out as she fell to her knees at Blake's side.

The sound of paws crunching through the snow told her that more Beowolves were bearing down on them, but she couldn't do anything anymore. She was done.

Black was creeping in the edges of her vision as she reached out a trembling hand and gently cupped Blake's cheek, internally flinching at how cold her skin felt. "I'm sorry, Blake," she whispered softly.

She heard the snarl of a Beowolf, and then Yang's world fell into darkness.

A/N: Okay, so first thing's first, sorry for the delay on this one. While I realize it is still technically in my selfset update schedule of 1-1.5 weeks, I wanted to get this one up last week. However, I got super busy again (which seems to be a running theme) and I actually ended up going to visit my family over the weekend, so obviously no writing there. (I also admit that I have recently gotten back into Pokemon X, so that has been taking up some time too). Anyway, I'm very sorry, and I hope this chapter and its length (longest thus far) made up for the delay

Now, apologies out of the way, what did you all think? I enjoyed writing some action again. It's fun to envision. I hope it kept up with Ruin's fight scenes (some of which I was actually pretty proud). We're starting to see a bit of change in Yang.

Next chapter's one I've been itching to write for awhile. It's going to be heavy, and you'll be getting the full disclosure on a few events that took place after the Siege

On another note, I'm almost done with Weiss' design, so hopefully I'll be posting that sometime within the next week

ALSO, HAVE YOU HEARD THE FULL VERSION OF THE NEW INTRO SONG 'CAUSE ASJDHASDHIJASHNLSADJS

Anyway, that's all for now. Look forward to the next one, my friends! As always, please review, and I love all of you so very, very much 3