Blake stared up at the old warehouse as a flood of memories came back to her.
"He said this place was sentimental to you," her teammate, Yang, brought up.
"Yes," she replied. "This was the first place the White Fang hit after the new leader. And I was one of the ones who hit it. Me, Adam, and Slade. That was my first mission."
"Is it hard being here again?" her partner asked her.
Blake paused for a moment to reflect. She did a lot of things in her time with the White Fang, most of them bad. She was a thief, a vandal, an arsonist, and a kidnapper; all but a cold blooded murderer. And all of those terrible deeds started here. Remembering the night of her first mission brought back the memories of all her crimes. They were memories she had worked hard to repress.
"No. I'm fine," the former rebel finally answered as she swallowed her emotions back down.
"Oh. Okay then." Yang knew she was lying, but also knew that now wasn't the time to pry too much. With an opponent like the one they were here to face, they had to be focused.
This was the longest conversation the two had had since the night before. Everyone tried their hardest to get as much sleep as possible to prepare for this moment. This was an easy task for none of them.
The team had been in tough situations before, but they had always found a way to come out on top. No person or Grimm had ever beaten them to the degree that Deathstroke did. And the fact that he had effectively split RWBY up only made it harder for them to stomach as the two huntresses left their friends to face the assassin.
That nervous reaction was only amplified by an unquantifiable degree as the two girls stood in front of the rendezvous location.
"Well, we can't keep waiting out here forever," Yang tried to pump them up a bit. "C'mon. We've got some ass to kick."
The warehouse had seen better days. It wasn't in a state of disrepair, but it was showing how little it was used. It was a smaller facility than the ones that the Schnee Dust Company presently had in use. Before the White Fang started attacking the Dust Company, it was used for storing freshly imported Dust before it was sent out around Vale. After it was attacked, Dust ceased to be stored there. Now it was used for storing mining equipment and large storage canisters. Most of these tools were out of date by now, making them next to worthless. And it being the first known target hit by the White Fang made it pretty undesirable to any potential buyers of the building.
The two huntresses entered the building at 11:00 AM. Their plan was to get there before Deathstroke did. They would use the extra time to survey the building's interior and plot out the ambush. But when they walked in, that plan immediately went out the window.
"Hello, girls," the assassin greeted them as he stepped down the stairs from the observation platform overlooking the warehouse. "Didn't expect to see you here this early." He was in his full battle armor with his standard set of guns, knives, and swords. His mask was pulled up onto the top of his head, allowing his face to be visible.
Blake kept up their charade. "We're done, Slade. We give up. What do you want from us now?"
"That's it. That's all I needed to hear," he replied. He walked closer to them and pulled something from his utility belt. "Now if you could just repeat it so we have it on record." He held a Scroll out in front of the two and pressed record.
Blake looked to her partner for approval. Yang gave her a reassuring nod and Blake spoke into the Scroll, "Team RWBY hereby surrenders to Slade Wilson and those he represents."
"Excellent," Slade said as stopped the recording. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it? Now for the next part." He placed his Scroll back into his belt pocket and pulled out what looked like two collars.
"Alright, pal. What are those supposed to be?" Yang demanded.
"I call them insurance," the assassin explained. "They're an idea I got after my time working for the government. Each of these collars is fitted with an explosive that can be remotely detonated by me at any time."
"You're placing bombs around our necks?" Blake questioned him.
"They're meant to give you the incentive to stay out of my employers' way. I told you I'd be watching you, Blake," he reminded her. "You will keep these on until my employers consider this contract over. Any of your team try to oppose their plans, and I will activate them. They can also only be removed by me. Tampering or removal will cause detonation."
"I am not putting that thing on!" Yang retorted.
Deathstroke gave the girl a half smile. "It is this or death."
"Yang," Blake called her name. The blonde looked to her teammate. Blake made eye contact with her gave her a slight nod. Yang understood perfectly. She turned back to the assassin. "Alright. Just do it already."
With Yang's agreement, Slade stepped forward and reached out to wrap the explosive collar around her neck. As he got closer, the blonde grinned and said, "On second thought…"
Yang swatted his arms away and pushed the mercenary back. She reared her arm back to throw a punch, but Slade caught her hand. Yang looked up to see him already bringing a knife down on her.
The moment before the blade could make contact, Gambol Shroud swatted it out of his hand. Blake gave her teammate an opening to punch Deathstroke in the abdomen hard enough to cause him to stumble away from the two huntresses.
The two readied themselves for combat as the assassin regained his footing.
Slade chuckled to himself. "I gave you a choice, Blake. And you chose." He pressed his finger to his earpiece and spoke, "Negotiations are over. You're clear to engage." He pulled his mask down over his face, reached over his shoulder, and drew his sword. "Let's make this quick. I need to get paid."
The hospital room was painfully quiet that morning. Neither girl wanted to say anything with the knowledge that their two best friends were facing the biggest threat Team RWBY has ever faced without them.
Weiss didn't even have the stomach to eat the cafeteria food that had been brought to her. Her mind wouldn't stop focusing on the bad things that could happen today. There was a seriously good chance that Blake and Yang won't be able to defeat Deathstroke and she knew it.
Ruby's mind… was focused elsewhere. "Hey, Weiss."
"Yes, Ruby?"
"Are you gonna eat your Jell-O?"
The Ice Queen rolled her eyes at her teammate's simpleness. "Go for it."
Ruby took the bowl and began scarfing down the dessert. Weiss would never admit it, but there was something she envied about Ruby. No matter how grim things looked, she always saw the upside; the best possible ending. To her, there was no other way this could end besides victory. While a bit naive, it wasn't such a bad outlook to have on life. It would certainly settle the heiress's nerves for a second.
Weiss was pulled out of her thoughts by a doctor walking into the room. "You seem to be doing better," he said as he walked in. "I'm just here to-" He was interrupted by a cable shooting across the room and embedding itself into the wall next to him. The doctor looked to the window on the opposite wall in time to see a figure zipline through. The intruder kicked him in the head as she dropped down from the cable and landed, knocking him out cold.
Ruby jumped up from her seat and put herself between the assailant and her still bedridden teammate.
Their attacker was a teenage girl with white hair. She was dressed in a light, armored suit with an orange and black color scheme nearly identical to that of Deathstroke. She wore a mask of the same color design and her left eye covered.
"Hold on," Ruby said. "Does Deathstroke have a sister or something?"
The masked girl turned to the young huntress-in-training and sneered, "Deathstroke is my father. My name is Rose Wilson. I am the Ravager."
Ruby looked to Weiss. "I guess Yang was right about me needing to stay behind, huh?"
Rose drew a sword and threw it at the hooded girl's head. Her speed allowed her to duck in time and the sword planted itself into the wall. As soon as she stood back up, she was being lifted off the ground by her throat. Ravager looked her up and down in disgust. "This is what my father needed help with? This is what my talents are being wasted on?!" With her heightened strength, she threw the young girl into the wall behind her, getting her out of the way. She then turned to Weiss.
Rose walked over to the bed and pulled her sword from the wall. "Killing a Schnee should get me some recognition of my own."
With her body still recovering from Deathstroke's poison and the drugs to counteract it, Weiss was in no shape to try and make a speedy retreat. She desperately looked around her for something to defend herself with. There was nothing helpful within arm's reach. Myrtenaster was across the room, but she didn't have the time or strength to get to it.
In a last hope attempt to fight back, Weiss threw a punch at her assailant. Deathstroke's daughter caught the fist in air, displaying her advanced speed and reflexes.
"That's twice a huntress has failed to impress me. My father promised me a challenge." Ravager raised her sword into the air above the helpless heiress. She brought it down and Weiss shut her eyes, waiting for the hit.
"What the hell?!" She heard Rose yell. She opened her eyes to see the young assassin struggling against her blade as it rested mere inches above its target. That could only mean- Weiss turned her head to see Pyrrha standing in the room's doorway with her arms outstretched, using her semblance of magnetism to keep the sword at bay.
"Perhaps I may be able to impress you," the redheaded warrior announced before forcing the assassin's blade back away from her friend. Weiss saw the opening Pyrrha made for her and kicked her attacker away from her. Rose staggered back and glared at her new opponent.
Pyrrha drew Miló and Akoúọ and analyzed the assassin. She had only gotten a brief look last time, but it was enough to confirm that the girl staring her down bore the same colors as the shooter from the concert. She was still pissed about Jaune. This isn't the same man with the gun, but she will be acceptable.
"If you wish for a challenge, face me instead," she provoked the shooter's accomplice.
Rose chuckled a little and drew a second sword. "You're not one of my father's prey. But I don't see why I shouldn't kill you, too. We'll just consider this one-" She didn't get to finish her statement before crashing through the wall.
With her attention focused on Pyrrha, she failed to see Ruby recovering after being thrown against the wall. The young huntress was able to build up enough energy to launch herself at Ravager with a very high velocity, tackling her through the wall and into the neighboring room. Pyrrha saw all of the preparation to this and was merely holding the assassin's attention while Ruby charged up.
Once the two were gone, she rushed over to Weiss. "Are you alright?" she asked.
"I'm fine," the heiress assured her. "But Ruby needs help. She won't be able to face her alone."
Pyrrha gave a determined nod and charged through the newly formed hole in the wall to enter the fray.
Yang stumbled back after being kicked in the chest. Blake charged in to buy her a moment's rest. With her semblance, she lunged forward off a Shadow Clone, but Deathstroke's reflexes were too quick. He blocked her strike and delivered a counterattack. The two went back and forth for a moment until Slade was able to knock both of her swords to the side and headbutt her in the nose. Blake recoiled back and reached for her face, feeling blood. The assassin took advantage of her dropping her guard and swung his blade towards her. Blake acted just quickly enough to block the attack in time for Yang to jump forward and take her place.
Yang was much more aggressive than her teammate, sending a nonstop volley of shotgun punches at her opponent. Deathstroke was forced to play defensively and wait for an opening. This proved easier than one would think for the master assassin. While the girl gave a nearly overwhelming offense, her defense dropped. A quick counter would break her barrage and leave her vulnerable.
As she threw her next punch, Slade batted her arm to the side, throwing her off. He followed up by slashing his sword at her chest. Yang pulled her arm down in time for her gauntlet to take the blow, but wasn't fast enough to avoid him kicking her across the face.
And just like that, both huntresses were knocked down, wiping the blood from their faces, and trying to get back up. Normally Deathstroke would take this opportunity to end the fight quickly. But he was feeling a little overconfident and opted to simply taunt them.
"I must say, ladies, I'm rather disappointed. I thought I was going to get some exercise today or at least break a sweat."
"Keep talking, asshole," Yang said back as she got back to her feet and spit a wad of blood from her mouth.
Blake wiped her bleeding nose and turned to her partner. "Yang." The blonde looked to her. "Bumblebee." They smiled to each other, agreeing on their new strategy, and charged their opponent as one.
Blake struck first, leaping at the assassin. As he swung his blade to parry her attack, she suddenly lunged back, leaving her afterimage to take the hit. With his momentum already carrying his sword down through the mirage, he couldn't act fast enough to stop Yang's gauntlet from making contact with his face, firing on impact. His mask took most of the damage at the cost of most of its left side being blown apart.
Now angered at taking such a hit from a teenager, Slade pushed forward and swung his sword at the blonde's unprotected midsection. But just as the blade reached its mark, Blake appeared to deflect the strike and give Yang another opening to blast him in the chest. He attempted drawing a handgun and firing off a shot, but Blake rushed forward and sliced the barrel off. He brought his sword back around but the Faunus parried it away. Yang followed by delivering another punch across his face, sending him and his sword rolling in two different directions.
Deathstroke was able to roll back to his feet and draw a second gun. Blake once again dashed right up to him and caught his gun between her two blades, cleaving it in half. When she stepped back and her partner raced forward, he was ready. He drew his staff and thrust it toward her. She dodged the thrust and caught the weapon in her hands. With her now closer to him, Slade pulled a knife and swung it at her head. She ducked under the slash and Blake came up to catch his arm as he tried a second time. Yang took advantage of his temporary immobilization and blasted him in the gut. She pulled the staff from his hands as he was thrown back. To add insult to injury, she took his rather expensive ballistic staff and broke it over her knee.
Now with no blades or guns, Deathstroke needed to alter his tactics. Their synchronization is perfect. Blake provides the quick, defensive counters and sets up her partner to deliver the real damage. Clever girls. The only counterattack is to divide and conquer.
Ready to end this, Yang charged forward and reared her arm back. Slade pulled the last tool he had on him and fired it. The gun fired a metal claw which clamped onto Ember Celica and fired off a secondary claw up into the rafters. A strong line connected them and effectively restrained her arm from moving.
Before she could even react to her predicament, all of Yang's limbs were attached to the ceiling and she was hanging upside down by the cables. Blake rushed forward to help her, but Deathstroke was on her too quickly. She swung Gambol Shroud's sheath only for him to grab her weapon and pry it from her grasp. She swung her sword, but he caught her forearm with his other hand and pulled her in close. The assassin then jabbed his knee right into her gut, knocking the wind out of her. As she crumbled to her knees, Deathstroke grabbed her by the throat, lifted her into the air, slammed her to the ground, and kicked her across the floor.
"You're done, Blake," he snarled as he stalked over to the downed huntress. "You had a good run, but it's over."
Blake picked up Gambol Shroud and surveyed her surroundings to find some way to gain the advantage again. She only had the sword half of her weapon. The sheath was still held tightly in Deathstroke's hand. She looked above her and an idea sparked in her head. She'd take a more indirect approach. She collapsed her weapon into its gun form and fired off a shot. The bullet flew just over Slade's shoulder and shattered a light hanging from the ceiling.
The assassin laughed mockingly at her. "I spent all that time teaching you stealth and swordplay when I should have been teaching you how to shoot."
"I'm better than you think," the huntress remarked before shooting out all of the lights in the warehouse.
The entire building went dark. Deathstroke reached up and clicked on a flashlight attached to his earpiece. He shined the beam towards his opponent to reveal her disappearance. "Clever girl, Blake. Using your heightened Faunus senses to your advantage."
"From shadows," she recited the slogan by which she was taught from somewhere in the darkness. There was enough echo to prevent sound from pointing her out.
Slade couldn't help but feel a little proud. "It seems I taught you well. So let's see just how well, shall we? You hide and I'll seek. Then I get paid." He pulled what was left of his mask off his face and threw it the ground before he began searching the shadows for his elusive prey.
"Alright, Doctor Free. We've gotta get this heart to surgery, take out the busted one, and slap this one in," Doctor Jones was prepping his colleague as they pushed the cart containing the transplant organ down the hall.
"I can't believe we're finally getting to head the operation. I'm tired of just watching like a mongy little minge," the British surgeon said.
"We've got this shit in the bag, boi. Nothing's gonna f*** this up."
Right at that moment, Rose Wilson came crashing through the wall and into the two doctors, knocking over both of them and their cart. Upon landing, all three of them shouted, "Mother f***er!"
Rose jumped to her feet as Pyrrha charged through and swung Miló at her. She handspringed away from the strike and the two dueled down the hall.
Ruby poked out through the hole in the wall to follow the action. She saw the two surgeons, one digging through the turned over cart and the other rolling around on the ground.
Doctor Jones opened the box containing the needed organ. "Where's the f***in' heart?! It's gone!"
Doctor Free was still rolling around in pain. "My knee! I really banged it!"
"Sorry," Ruby apologized as she ran past them.
Doctor Jones yelled back, "You f***ing whores!"
As Ruby sprinted towards the girls locked in combat, she expanded Crescent Rose and fired a shot behind her. The recoil sent her flying back into the action. She swung her scythe at Ravager as she flew past. The young assassin protected her body from the blade, but the sheer force behind the hit sent her to the ground.
Once she slowed down, Ruby collapsed her weapon back to its rifle form. Crescent Rose's biggest downfall was her sheer size. She was simply too massive to be swung around effectively in the hospital hallways and not cause huge amounts of collateral damage. Because of this, she left most of the CQC to Pyrrha while she waited for her opportunity to make a quick strike.
With her opponent down, Pyrrha pressed the attack. She leaped into the air and brought Akoúọ downwards on her. Rose rolled to her right to avoid the shield's edge crushing her windpipe. She kicked her legs and sweeped the huntress off her feet.
Now that they were both on the ground, Ravager pounced on her foe. She slashed her swords wildly down at her. Pyrrha held her shield above her to deflect the attacks before swiping one of Rose's swords to the side.
Rose didn't let that slow her down. She continued to punch the redhead in her face twice before stabbing her other sword at her neck. Pyrrha moved her head in time for the blade to only nick her armored collar as it stabbed into the floor.
The assassin attempted to pull her weapon back for another strike, but her initial pull couldn't dislodge it from the floor. Before she could put some real strength into her pull, Pyrrha lurched her head forward and collided with Ravager's. She recoiled back and left the huntress open to deliver a mighty kick to her sternum.
The white haired girl stumbled back in pain. Hearing footsteps, she turned in time to see Ruby swing her gun like a baseball bat right before the stock hit her across the cheek. The blow sent her forward back into Pyrrha's grasp. Having since picked herself up off the floor and shouldered her weapons, she grabbed Rose by her belt and collar, lifted her off her feet, and flung her down the hall.
She tumbled for a moment and staggered back to her feet. Pyrrha wasn't done though. She redrew Miló in its spear form and threw it at the arrogant assassin. The spear pierced through her bicep and dragged her all the way back until it embedded itself into the wall.
Rose winced for a second before reaching over to the spear that stuck straight through her upper arm. With a cry of pain, she ripped it out of the wall and her arm.
She huffed a few times before boasting, "You can't beat me. My father's blood flows through my veins. Whatever serum that made him what he is, I was born with it. It was infused with my genes. No amount of harm can kill me." Even as she said this, the gaping hole in her arm slowly began to close itself back up.
With the spear in hand, she began stalking back down to the two huntresses. She passed the giant hole in the wall they had created earlier and shouted. "I am everything my father is and more! I am The Ravager!"
Suddenly, a blast of ice struck her from her side and fused her to the opposite wall. From the hole in the wall, out stepped Weiss in her hospital gown. In one hand she held Myrtenaster, still emanating a blue glow from its blade. In the other she was dragging the wheeled pole carrying her IV setup.
"An amateur is what you are," she snarked at her subdued assassin.
The other two huntresses walked over to view their opponent's predicament. Her entire body was covered in ice that bound her to the floor and wall, right next to one of the patient's rooms. The only thing left uncovered was her head, something that was very quickly regretted.
"No! This isn't possible!" she protested as she struggled to free herself. "I'm The Ravager! You're just a bunch of f***ing children! I am the greatest assassin to ever live! I won't be beaten by the likes of-" BAM!
The door to the room she was stuck next to suddenly swung forcefully open and clocked her in the head, finally knocking her out cold. Jaune stood in the doorway, dazed and donning a hospital gown, with a sling holding his arm and a whole lot of bandages for his wounded shoulder.
"Look, guys, I don't wanna come off the wrong way, but… do you think you could keep it down a bit? People are trying to sleep here."
With that he closed the door and went back to his bed, not acknowledging any of the signs of battle outside.
Blake was doing a good job of staying out of sight as Deathstroke hunted her in the dark. When the lights were out, the warehouse was nearly pitch black. The building was still filled with aisles of crates full of machinery parts and Dust storage canisters. They were stacked high and provided excellent cover and vantage points.
Blake's footsteps were light as a cat's as she made her way through the dark. Her Faunus eyes illuminated everything as bright as day. Her senses kept her aware of her surroundings and the location of her former mentor.
Deathstroke was playing a game of his own. Most others would be angry or afraid of searching an old, dark warehouse for an opponent as tactical and well-trained as the Faunus girl. He was too busy savoring the thrill of the hunt as he paced up and down the aisles, shining his headlight around and keeping his hearing sharp to find his target. All he could hear was her partner struggling against her bindings as she hung upside down on the other side of the facility.
"I'm impressed, Blake," he spoke into the shadows. "You've gotten good in the past five years. Was it that school for huntsmen or the White Fang where you honed your abilities? I want to know how scrappy I should expect you to be."
Blake didn't answer, refusing to let his words get under her skin. She was staying close to Slade, keeping him in her sight while staying out of his.
"When we fought at the stadium," he kept going, "it looked like you were using more of your huntress training and trying to work with your team. Once it was just you and your partner, you got a little more opportunistic, but still acted like a civilized combatant. But skulking around in the shadows, waiting for a perfect shot at a killing blow, that's a terrorist tactic. That's what I taught you."
Blake started thinking about his words and how her training from the White Fang hadn't fully left her. In her actions and tactics, she was still just as much the rebel that she had been so long ago. No. I left that life behind. I'm not what I was.
"I'm also disappointed in you, though. You were actually foolish enough to trust that I hadn't bugged the communicator I gave you. You decided to keep it with you while you and your team discussed your plan to take me down in great detail, assuming no one would hear."
What? Blake thought in shock. He knew what we were planning?
"I wonder how Miss Schnee is doing with only little Ruby to defend her. It'd be a shame for her to survive a dose of my venom concoction only to get a sword through the heart. Once I'm through with you and Miss Xiao Long, I'll be contacting my accomplice to see how much of a fight they put up."
With that said, Blake panicked. She wanted to pull out her Scroll and contact Ruby and Weiss, but couldn't afford to take her focus off Deathstroke. She had to finish this quickly and warn her friends. She sprung out from the shadows and struck at the assassin. He quickly spun around and blocked her attack. She stayed on the offensive, letting her fear for her friends and anger toward her former teacher drive her actions.
Still wielding the bladed sheath to Gambol Shroud, Slade simply stayed defensive and blocked every attack that was sent his way before batting her in the face with the butt of her own weapon. He followed by elbowing her in chest and finally kicking her to the ground.
She was down, but Slade wasn't done yet. He grabbed her by the hair and dragged her away from her dropped weapon and back out to the front of the warehouse where their battle had started. Blake cried out in pain as she could feel locks being pulled from her scalp. He dropped her hair only to lift her up by her throat.
Yang, having been tied up and unable to follow everything that was going on, could now see her teammate being held in the air, illuminated by the assassin's light. "Don't you touch her!" she shouted as she continued to struggle against her restraints.
Slade ignored her and chose to taunt Blake more. "You thought you knew me enough that you could take me down, Blake? You thought me so easily beatable?"
Blake, struggling for air, said back, "I thought I knew you. But I didn't know you at all."
He loosened his grip a bit, wanting to hear what she had to say before finishing her. It was the least he could do for his former student.
She sucked in another breath and looked him in the eyes. "You're a monster, Slade. Of all the bad things I've done, none of it compares to you." She gasped again. "I had purpose. Something to believe in. Something that drove me to my actions. What drives you, Slade?"
Slade had had enough and threw her across the floor. She got to her hands and knees and started crawling away, searching for something to defend herself with. Then, she noticed something on the floor. She reached out for it and picked it up. It was Deathstroke's sword, the one he dropped in his fight with her and Yang. She looked back. Slade was stalking over towards her, her blade still in his hand. Yang was still hanging behind him, struggling against her restraints and shouting at the assassin. She had one, last ditch idea.
"I want to let you know, Blake," the assassin said as he got closer and raised her blade up, "you did better than most."
Blake made her move. She rose to her feet and flung the sword at him. Deathstroke was able to quickly drop to his knee to duck under it as it flew past him.
He rose back to his feet and chuckled. "Nice final act of defiance, but I'm afraid you've got nothing." As he was finishing his statement, he noticed a golden glow on the ground around him. It appeared to be emanating from behind him.
He turned to see Yang Xiao Long rushing towards him. Her binds had been cut by the thrown sword, her hair was set ablaze, and her eyes burned red. Slade saw her just in time to realize what had happened before she threw a punch with triple her strength and landed it right across his left cheek. The sheer amount of force behind the punch sent him flying across the room and into a stack of crates. He was out cold before he even landed.
"Let that be a lesson to anyone who tries to f*** with Team RWBY!" Yang shouted at her unconscious opponent.
Blake got back up onto her feet and placed her hand on her partner's shoulder. Yang turned back and was immediately calmed by her smile. Her eyes turned back to their lilac color and her hair's glow died down.
With Yang's hair no longer providing light for the two, Blake had to lead them out of the warehouse where they could call their friends.
A/N: This is it. Contract has come to its end. There is still one chapter left, though, if only a short one.