"That's the last of them!" Preston shouted out from behind his mask as the last of the mutant ambush party hit the floor with a grunt. Reloading his musket, he quickly double checked his surroundings before relaxing his stance, but never put his weapon away.

"Jesus fuck, how are you supposed to move around in these things?" Grumbled Yang to herself, pulling her arm back from the destroyed head of a super mutant. Though she had done it many a time before, the sickening squelch made her cringe behind her mask, and she strongly resisted the urge to gag. Though she never got used to killing, she secretly thanked whoever designed this helmet for excluding smells. But that was about the only positive observation she could make. "It can take a punch, but holy shit, this thing has got an ass on it!"

"You'd actually be surprised." replied Ruby, wiping the blade of Crescent Rose clean off a stray piece of cloth. "I adjusted the mechanics to suit manoeuvrability, and even adjusted the arms so you could fit on Ember Celica."

Yang shrugged it off, shaking off what little destroyed flesh still clung to the metal of her power fist as best as she could. Eww, she thought to herself, how the hell does a bit of brain get up a shotgun muzzle?! She flicked it away, making a look of disgust.

"Not to mention you are carrying enough supplies to provide a small army for a month alone," Blake pointed out, twirling her blade around elegantly before sheathing it, a small spray of red hitting the floor. Even with the bulky armour, her movements were still smooth and elegant, something which slightly annoyed Yang. "Of course it's going to be a little harder to use than usual,"

"Says you, mistress ninja, you are handling that hunk of steel like a second skin!" Yang growled, still trying to get used to moving around in the frame, with little success. The movements that she made in the power armour required a lot of effort, the technology resisting against her.

"Don't put down power armour so soon, Yang. It is a feat of engineering, one of the last glorious relics of a bygone age," Weiss started lecturing, pulling her rapier out from the ground, keeping a comment about Yang being an oaf. "Besides, imagine how much harder it would be to face off against a pack of super mutants without one,"

"I suppose...just wish they made it a little easier to control," Yang grumbled, an angry whirring of gears in her arm adding emphasis to her point. Weiss sighed, and strode over to her.

"Yang, you've been struggling with it since you stepped into it back at Sanctuary Hills. I admire your persistence, Yang, but you will tire long before that suit gives out." Weiss pointed out, a remark which only served to aid in Yang's further annoyance, so she decided to try a different approach. "Here, don't try to think of it as a piece of machinery, think of it as just a set of clothes. Relax and take it slowly,"

Sighing impatiently, Yang begrudgingly took her advice. However, Yang was never one for patience and baby steps, and when she tried to rush her movements, the frame provided a lot of resistance, making the mechanics of the suit whir angrily. Yang yelled out in frustration, though it didn't really take Weiss by surprise. If anything, Weiss almost was expecting it.

"For god's sa-" Weiss was about to bark out, but quickly held her tongue, fearing she was sounding too much like her father, a bitter and angry mentor. Gulping back, she took a soft breath and tried again. "Baby steps, Yang, baby steps," Weiss said. Her tone was soft but still with the firm undertone of command, though it was more intended as a suggestion this time. Swallowing back her irritation, Yang started off slowly, with her arms. When they provided resistance, she took a deep breath and relaxed her muscles. This time, the armour moved fluidly, the gears making a soft sound, making the blonde smile in pride.

"Keep going," Weiss urged her taller companion further. Yang was a fast learner, and soon easily got the hang of it. She continued getting more used to controlling the power armour as the convoy pushed forward. Weiss followed close next to her the whole time.

"The power armour is just like any tool, Yang, treat it with respect, and it'll work just fine," Weiss said to her, slightly impressed at the blonde's quick progress.

"Come on, we aren't too far off now," Preston called out, waving towards the convoy who were starting to fall behind. The group ran up to catch up with him, Yang happily sprinting up to him.

oo0oo

"We made it," Preston smiled to himself, as he stared at the huge fortress nearby. However, his relief was short lived and he dashed for cover, crouching down near the burned out wreckage of truck.

"What's wrong?" Ruby whispered, as the group slowly followed Preston suit behind, but as they neared, they noticed the problem quickly. Thanks to the modifications Ruby had been working on, the servos picked up the enemy before they even got close.

"The Castle is completely surrounded. A few squads, combat armour, small arms, miniguns. There's also sniper posted out in that building. No wonder we couldn't use the cannons," Preston observed, his final comment whispered to himself. He peaked around the corner and adjusted the viewfinder in his helmet, zooming in on top of the wall. "Looks like the power is deactivated too,"

"Ok, man," Yang started, "it's your call. What do you want to do?"

"I'm not sure, any ideas?" he asked, turning around to the rest of the group, smiling hopefully, though the look was lost behind his thick helmet. Before anyone else could speak up, Ruby spoke up in a tone of serious thought.

"I have a plan."

oo0oo

Christ, this is boring, thought the snipe as he scanned the horizon for the upteenth time. Though his crow's nest was well defended, and he had enough resources to last him a nuclear winter, the one thing he had a shortage of was amusement. Boredom and silence were his only companions. Nope, nothing on the Castle battlements like yesterday, he thought again to himself, slowly swivelling his rifle. Squads are stationed around the wall, just like yesterday. God damn, how long do I have to-

He had little time to finish his thoughts, as Blake – who had ditched her power armour for stealth value and quietly stalked behind him – smacked the butt of Gambol Shroud hard into the back of his head, knocking him out with a dull thwack. Going limp, Blake drug his body into the far corner of the small room, lying prone by the large anti-material rifle. Quickly, she checked the rounds in the clip and settled back in. She leaned over and signalled to her allies, who were crouched in the husk of an old hut. Signalling back, Blake aimed at the nearest squad and fired.

"GOGOGO!" Ruby commanded. Her three comrades obeyed immediately and sprinted full force towards the Castle. While Blake's distraction would draw the fire away for only a few seconds, it would buy enough her group enough time to reach safety. Among the vast other modifications made by the small redhead, Ruby had also adjusted the hydraulics and servos in the machine to conserve stamina but increase movement speed. Soon, Ruby could feel the small pinging of small bullets prickling the back of her armour.

They had been spotted.

Though the damage to the suit was minimal, Ruby started a mental countdown of the Power suit's deteriorating condition, even as they neared the wall.

"Jump in three! Two! One! NOW!" Ruby shouted. Almost in synchronization, the four of them hit a command, causing the power suit to rocket upwards with amazing speed. Ruby let a small smile slip as she heard Yang's whoops of glee, and the small calculating mutters of Weiss, while Preston was unusually quiet. During the split second where they all hung in the air before, Ruby dared herself to looks over her shoulder to look at where Blake once was situated. Most of the mercenaries had fallen, but there was still a significant amount firing upon the crow's nest pointlessly. For if she had worked it out correctly, Blake would be back in her power armour suit, triggering a small care package of explosives she had left in her wake. It had worked out perfectly, as a black mass of metal followed close behind them when a sudden bright and violent explosion shook the surrounding landscape. Soon, the ground came rushing back to them as Blake activated her jet pack as she reached the edge of the wall. The four comrades landed perfectly, much to the surprised faces of a few settlers. Yang turned to the group and sighed.

"Well...that was a thing," She only just had to time to finish this as Blake in her power armour smacked the ground hard next to her. Preston jumped out of his suit and violently threw up the contents of his breakfast against the brick wall of the Castle.

"Now what?" Weiss asked, her helmet twisting between her party members for an answer.

"Take back the Fort?" Ruby stated, shrugging her shoulders.

"You make it sound so easy," Yang half laughed from behind her metal mask.

"Yeah," Preston groaned, wiping his mouth as he turned back towards the rest of the group. "Blake may have taken out a few of them but they are still a strong force,"

"Oh ye of little faith," Ruby sighed, with a mischievous grin, "You honestly think I wouldn't have a plan for this?"

(Notes: Yay! Update! And it only took a few weeks instead of a couple of months! Yay! I'm trying to be more regular with my writing, but with more hours at my job, dropping out of uni, jumping between homes, I just haven't had the time. I know, it's a poor excuse and I keep on apologizing but adulting is hard! WAAHHH! Anyway, if you like this story, feel free to follow and fave this story – or possibly follow me, I don't know – and IF YOU REALLY WANT to help, please check out my p-a-t-r-e-o-n – please do, help a poor, broke wanna-be writer out. Anyway, as always, hope you guys are doing awesome and adios!)

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