A Step too Far
Chapter 9
An old Titan decides to climb off the walls and take a step away from the Traveler. He never intended to walk so far. He sometimes regretted taking that step.
Yellow eyes fluttered open as dawn filtered in through the windows, the light of the early morning sun warming her skin as much as the sheets that obscured her body. With a silent yawn, she rose and stretched out her muscles, careful not to hit anything against the underside of the bed above her.
No one else is up, she observed. Shower's all mine.
She tip-toed her way to the adjacent bathroom, her footsteps light and deliberate as to avoid the mess of clothing and school supplies that her partner usually made. The door clicked shut and Blake quickly got to work sorting her clothes and selecting what products to use. Not even a minute later and she was relishing the feeling of warm water on her bare skin.
Before, when it was just her father and her living under a roof, Blake liked to put some music on while she showered and occasionally sing along. Now with three new people to get used to living with, she had to reassess that particular habit. It would be rather embarrassing for her if Yang caught her singing, and she could only guess at what'd happen if she decided to record it.
The reason she even started singing was to distract her from thinking too deeply in the shower. For whatever reason, the sensation of a warm shower relaxed her. And while the body relaxed, her mind visited places that were uncomfortable.
Thoughts of Praetor flooded her mind, wondering if he was faring well without her. Whether or not he missed her. Was he happy, now that she-
She shook her head, her hair whipping at her cheeks. It was impossible that Praetor would be glad that she was gone.
Instead she turned her attention to events around her. She recalled the first time that Ruby took charge against a Giant Nevermore, analysing and using everyone's abilities to the best effect. Which so happened to have culminated in the young girl beheading the massive bird with her scythe.
The announcements afterward made her smile, as Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang were made into a team. The look on Weiss' face when the headmaster announced Ruby as the team leader was priceless.
On the other side, Jaune did well for himself. Landing himself as a team leader with three others that Blake didn't recognise.
In the few days after that, Weiss was a bit irritable. For a while, she refused to acknowledge Ruby as their leader and acted out a little. It mostly, took form as her sitting next to Jaune during meals and classes. Thankfully, a talk with the professors seemed to have calmed her down significantly and get her to cooperate a little more. Though Weiss would never admit to anything of the sort.
And as if that wasn't enough for the month, Jaune also seemed to have problems in the form of a bully. A rather brutish one at that. Cardin Winchester was the bully's name, a gorilla of a boy in all but name. He tended to make targets out of Faunus students, picking on them for no apparent reason but to make them feel small. Initially he targeted her, but Blake was denied the chance of breaking a few fingers when Jaune gallantly decided to draw his attention by challenging him to a spar.
The fight was surprisingly one-sided with Jaune deflecting Cardin's large mace with ease and wearing him down with bug-bites. Eventually, Cardin got so frustrated that he, quite literally, tripped on a loose stone and face-planted into his own weapon.
Despite his victory, Blake had words with Jaune.
"I'm not some damsel that needs rescuing, Jaune." She told him. "I could've handled it without you."
"I'm sorry, I jus-" He tried to say, but was silenced by Blake holding up a placating hand.
"I know, I know. You were trying to help." Blake took a deep breath. "You're a good person, Jaune. Don't think that I don't appreciate it, because I do." She gave him a friendly smile. "Just remember that we're at a combat school. Most girls here aren't the type who need rescuing if they can help it."
He mulled over the information in his head for a second before nodding to himself. "Got it. I'll keep it in mind if it happens again."
When the time came for Cardin and Blake to fight in a practice match, Blake finally got a little satisfaction on the bully. He had to wear a cast on his hand for the next few days, which suited Blake just fine.
Thud thud thud
"Come on Kitty, you've been in there for almost ten minutes!" Came the voice of a groggy Yang.
"Be out in a minute!" Blake called back, realising that she'd been rubbing shampoo into her hair for five minutes straight, her fingernails were going to smell like apples for the rest of the day.
"-By the Traveler's Light, we will not let them through!" Lord Saladin shouted to the gathered Guardians, thrusting his blazing battle-axe above his head as the guardians around him erupted in cheer and roar.
"He's getting good at those speeches." The Ghost whispered.
"He is." Praetor agreed, a grin beneath his helmet. "But that's not what he was taught. His mentor taught him how to harness the Traveler's light, how important the wall is to us and to never stop fighting until your dying breath. Those speeches are his alone."
"I wonder how his protégé's will fare…"
"Both Zavala and Shaxx have a good grasp on their limits. They are as prepared as they can be…" he paused, looking over the gathered Guardians as they all splintered off into groups of threes and sixes. "…The others may need lady luck in order to make it through the battle ahead."
The field was empty, save for the bodies. The ground he trod on had been pounded away by hundreds of boots, leaving nothing but loose dirt and rock. On both sides there were smouldering fires and lazily drifting smoke and the odd pocket of lingering ozone. Despite seeing dozens of places like this, it never got any easier for Praetor.
With every lifeless Guardian he passed by, he stopped to utter a short prayer while the Ghost recorded them.
"More names to add to the wall." It muttered, scanning the body for anything identifying.
In the distance, Praetor could make out a signal flare drifting from the tower. Devil Red. Announcing to the Fallen that their Kell was slain.
"That's the last Guardian I can detect." The Ghost chirped, floating to his shoulder. "It'll be up to the other Ghosts to find their Guardians."
The Titan ignored him, continuing to pray.
"…We've done all we can, Praetor."
"I know damn it!" He snapped at the drone, breaking his pose to throw his arms in frustration. "It's just- We've been alive for who knows how many centuries now and I still can't find a way to stop things like this!"
"No one could have predicted the Hive would tunnel through here."
"I should have!" Praetor stomped on a dead Hive Knight, its hard carapace-like armour shattering from the force. "I've patrolled these lands before the city was an outpost! I was supposed to know more than anyone."
"I'll alert the Vanguard to watch for further Hive activity." That calmed down Praetor enough that he wasn't shaking with rage. Though the Ghost didn't like the way he was staring at the large opening in the ground. "…What are you planning?"
"I'm going down there."
Before the Ghost could even protest, Praetor was running towards the cave opening, Arc Light streaming from his armour.
"Why don't we ever run away from the hordes of killer aliens?"
He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, almost wishing for the familiar voice to suddenly tell him that Cabal had been spotted near Holborn's Host.
His body was on auto-pilot as it performed the daily ritual of a shower, trim and breakfast. Then he was off to what he considered work these days. Leaning against a wall and looking intimidating. Even that didn't feel quite right when Neo tried to cozy up to him.
That lasted until he was told to watch the next ship dock to unload its cargo. Roman was alongside him in the shadows as they watched for what they needed.
"Those containers there." Roman pointed out of the alley. "The ones with the SDC logo, we'll be hitting them in a couple of days." Almost sensing Praetor's frown, Roman quickly attempted to alleviate his fears. "Don't worry, we'll be doing it in the middle of the night. 'Sides, those Faunus dogs will be doing all the lifting, we'll just be there to provide… Moral support."
"…Right." Praetor muttered. He'd grown accustomed to Roman's blatant racism years ago. It still irked him, but as long as the flashy man was all talk, there wasn't a problem.
"Haha, looks like the ship had a stowaway!" The king-pin laughed as a blonde Monkey-Faunus with an open shirt dropped a banana peel on a policeman's face before scampering away. He almost missed the four girls the boy had passed on his getaway.
Blake looks like she's doing well.
He smiled before following Roman back into the alleyway.
She'd rather be curled up with a nice book or finishing off her homework. But since Weiss decided that the team needed to 'welcome' the competition for the upcoming Vytal Festival Tournament, they were out walking about the town, specifically at the seaside docks and the airport. And even though she was with her friends, Blake still felt the cold gazes from some passers-by.
"After him!"
Now the team was chasing after a blond Faunus who was also being chased by the police. Blake couldn't suppress a groan at the stereotype the boy was casting on her people.
"You there! Halt!"
Team RWBY paused at the command and all turned around to see a pair of detectives approaching. Despite their eyes being hidden by sunglasses, Blake could feel them glaring at her. They stood a full head above even Yang, the tallest of the team. Blake warily eyed the pistols that were kept holstered.
"Do you have any relation to that boy?" The bearded of them questioned, the other taking out a pen and notebook. Before Blake could try to deny anything, Ruby spoke up.
"Nope." She innocently stated. "We're just here to-"
"Not you, young lady." The bearded detective brushed Ruby aside, ignoring her indignant retort. He levelled his gaze at Blake. "You."
"I've never met him." She instantly responded.
"Uh-huh, likely story." The detective sneered, while the other shook his head and wrote something down.
"Wha- It's true!" Blake cried, looking to her team for support. Yang backed her up with a 'Yeah!' and Ruby simply nodded.
The bearded detective puffed out an impatient breath. Then pointed towards a Dust store that was being cordoned off by police. "Do you know anything about that? The shop-keep says he was robbed by the White-Fang."
"Typical." Weiss sneered. "The White-Fang are nothing but liars and degenerates." Blake openly glared at the Schnee Heiress.
"Not all Faunus are like the White-Fang, Schnee." She snapped at Weiss who was about to retort before being cut-off by the policemen.
"I've heard enough." The note-keeper closed his book and took out a pair of hand-cuffs and moved around her. "Cuff her. We can do a proper questioning back at the station."
"Hey, back off!" Yang angrily slapped the cuffs away. "You don't have any right to do that!"
"Actually, I do." The detective stated. "By Vale State Law, I'm well within my rights to place any suspect under arrest for forty-eight hours." He recited. "If they comply and assist us in our investigation that time will be significantly shorter."
Yang still looked outraged, and even looked like she was about to activate her semblance until Ruby grabbed her arm. Blake just smiled sadly at the two. "I'll be alright, I've got nothing to hide, after all." She told them as the cuffs were clicked around her wrists.
Weiss looked conflicted. Guilt marred her features as she recalled what she said on impulse and just how it might have possibly incriminated her new friend.
From atop a nearby building, a blue-eyed monkey saw everything.
The inside of her cell (Temporary, she reminded herself) was cold. It was literally iron bars and a bench that was fixed to a wall. The barred window helped a little, she got an excellent view of the harbour, surprisingly enough.
The detectives asked her all sorts of questions, ranging from her whereabouts at the time of the robbery and thoroughly questioned her about her background. It was tedious and most of her answers were negative. Though when she was shown a blurry black-and-white video feed, she had to quickly hide her shock at seeing a familiar silhouette.
The figure in the picture was large, almost two-hundred and twenty centimetres tall, and was shown storming into a Dust store before shooting the camera.
Blake couldn't even fathom him doing such a thing.
The video was accompanied by an artist's depiction based off eye-witness accounts. The rough, pencil sketch only solidified her fear.
It was him.
Suddenly, it felt as though every little thing that bothered her over the last few years clicked. The hastily constructed reasons why he came home ahead of schedule, the random fluctuations of disposable income and even the random wounds that looked nothing like Grimm attacks she'd heard about.
He'd been lying to her.
While everything raced through her mind, her face stayed impassive and her voice level as she denied any kind of knowledge of the man.
Now here she was, curled up on a bench with her back to the wall. The sun had just set, still leaving the purple and golden glow over the horizon. She felt the cool, sea breeze brush against her exposed skin and she shivered. She felt as though her world was suddenly tipped upside down.
Her father was a criminal.
But why?
"Hey, kid." Blake's head snapped up towards the voice. There was a police man standing there with the cell door open. "You're free to go."
Silently, she stood up and followed the man through the station. Waiting at the entrance, in various states of nervousness, worry and potential anger, was her team. Immediately, she was onset by little Ruby who grabbed her waist in a hug and refused to let go, rambling apologies the whole time. Yang was a little more subdued, not barrelling into Blake like her sister did and quickly moving to look for any sign of physical abuse. Finding none, she grabbed the cat-girl in a headlock and ruffled her hair.
"You had us worried, Kitty." She admitted with her patented grin.
All three sets of eyes turned towards Weiss, who had just stood up from her spot, expecting her to say something. The Heiress took a deep breath and took a full step towards the group.
"I'm sorry." She began. "I know that's little consolation for what I said before and I'm sorry for not thinking before I ran my stupid mouth." She crossed one arm and used the other to partially cover her face in shame. "I can see how the White-Fang can be a touchy subject with you, so I'll do my best to avoid saying anything un-warranted in the future."
Throughout Weiss' apology, Blake couldn't stop her jaw from falling open. It also looked like Weiss wouldn't expect her to forgive her so lightly, so it really surprised her when Blake smiled.
"Thank you, Weiss."
Once outside, they began to walk towards the airport before she felt a presence behind her.
"Y'know, you look quite well for someone who was just in jail."
It was the monkey-boy from before, leaning against a lamp-post with a half-eaten banana in his hand.
For a while now, Team RWBY plus one blonde monkey-Faunus, who introduced himself as Sun Wukong, sat watch on top of a building near the Vale Dockyards. Despite it being the dead of night, the dockyard was still being worked. To the unsuspecting eye, all one would see would be a crew of workers trying to get over-time pay. Sadly for them, Team RWBY plus one were keen watchers and they'd noticed some oddities.
The most glaring was the wrong uniforms. Instead, the workers were wearing hoods and masks of the White-Fang. The second oddities came in the form of the odd Bullhead that came in and then left in a random direction. And the final one came in the form of one Roman Torchwick directing and 'motivating' the White-Fang.
The last one was the final straw for Blake. She rushed down against her team's whispered warnings, sticking to the shadows and using her natural agility bypass the fence and sneak around armed patrols.
In a mere five minutes, she was close enough to clearly make out Roman's condescending voice.
"Come on, move it you mutts." He waved his cane at them. "This Dust isn't gonna load itself!"
She took a calming breath, steeling herself for she was about to do. She unsheathed her blade with one hand and swept up behind Roman and pressed the edge to his neck.
"What the-" he started, before realising his position with a roll of his eyes. "Of for f-"
"My Brothers and sisters of the Faunus!" Blake cut off the king-pin. "Why are you working for this racist scumbag?"
The White-Fang members looked at each other, all in a silent, knowing conversation, before turning their gaze towards Blake and raising their rifles and blades.
"Oh they know who holds their leashes, little kitty." Roman's smug voice answered. Blake was too busy glaring at the criminal to notice that the tip of his cane opened up and fired a blinding light onto the ground.
The sudden rush of light forced Blake to close her eyes. That mistake cost her the only bargaining chip she held as Roman elbowed her stomach and rolled away while she was blinking away the flash. In an instant, he had the cane up again and ready to fire an explosive round at his stunned target.
Whiz-Bang!
All of a sudden his cane jerked to the side, sending the explosive bolt at an empty container. In the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of red on top of a nearby building and he had to suppress a snarl. It was that little girl who screwed up his heist a month ago. He didn't have time to reflect as Blake had recovered and was currently slashing down at him.
He managed to block with the shaft of his cane, but the blade merely phased through it before evaporating harmlessly. He immediately jumped and swung out a leg, catching Blake in the shoulder as she went for a low swipe.
Any kind of follow up attack was interrupted by another kid jumping in. This time it was Sun, who knocked a White-Fang member into him with an oddly shaped Bo staff. Sun launched himself at Roman like a spinning top, swinging his staff with reckless abandon.
Contradicting popular belief that Roman was a coward and therefore not good at fighting, the criminal blocked and deflected every swing that Sun could throw at him, until he got in a good kick to Sun's chiselled abdomen, sending the boy into a wall.
Blake didn't let Roman have any time to rest. As soon as Sun was clear, she rushed back in, slashing and leaving doppelgangers of herself whenever she could to try and trip up Roman. Unfortunately, he quickly understood her approach and kept backing away from her so that her attacks came in a linear and easy to block fashion. This kept up until she forced his back against a parked bullhead, where they were forced into a stalemate, their weapons locked against one another's.
"Ooh, kitty has claws." The criminal taunted before kicking her in the shin and forcing her to stumble. All it took from him was a push and she was on her back. "Now I'd like to stay and play kitty, but unfortunately I have places to be." He pointed his weapon at her while he climbed into the aircraft. "But I'm not so cruel as to leave you alone, I've got a playmate for you. Oh, here he is now."
As if it was on cue, she heard Ruby call out through the radio. "Blake, look out!"
Blake felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise as she felt a presence behind her. Her instincts made her jump away just as something impacted where she just was, sending dust and pulverized concrete into the air. Blake rolled to her feet as the concrete dust quickly settled and she felt the blood drain from her face.
Crouched with one fist in the now spider-webbed ground, clad in black and golden armour wreathed in flames. Blake didn't need to see his eyes to know that he was looking right back at her from the corner of his eyes.
It was Praetor.
"Ruby, what just happened!?" Yang shouted, blasting another White-Fang flunkies away with a shot from her blasters. She couldn't keep an eye on Blake as she Ruby and Weiss were currently engaged in a skirmish with several White-Fang members.
"I can't tell, there's too much dirt in the way!" She heard her little sister reply, followed by the sound of Crescent Rose firing.
"Let's just focus on us right now." Weiss reasoned. Yang was about to flare up at her for even suggesting such a thing, but was cut off when the Schnee girl continued. "The faster we take care of these goons, the faster we can help Blake."
Yang let herself grin, liking the sound of Weiss' plan. After all, they were only outnumbered three to one, they'd be finished in a minute at most.
Praetor hated himself. He just attacked Blake, whom he loved like a daughter. Roughly pulled his fist out of the cracked ground and stood up, turning his head so he could get a better look at her. Seeing her now, ready and willing to fight against injustices that had been wrought by the likes of Torchwick, Cinder... by himself. It made him proud.
He took a step forward. "Bl-"
"Get away from her!" The boy shouted at him, charging with his staff. The boy leapt into the air with a flip, bringing the metal haft down upon Praetor.
A simple block with his gauntlets stopped the attack dead in its tracks and the staff broke in two. The monkey-boy however, wasn't fazed by this in the least. Instead the now separated pieces split once again into four sawn-off shotguns attached to one another by a small chain. The boy then started spinning them around his body wildly, firing them and switching hands.
The pellets peppered Praetor, bouncing off his armour like stones. He wanted to talk to his daughter, but first he had to deal with this annoyance. Praetor quickly closed the gap between him and the monkey-boy, who tried to retreat, firing off more shots. But the boy wasn't fast enough as Praetor latched onto his ankle and tossed him into the side of a shipping container hard enough to dent the metal.
Hearing the boy groan in pain and slowly push himself back up, the Titan's fire flared and coalesced into a small ball in his palm. Praetor lazily tossed the ball to the boy's feet which then exploded in a small fireball and knocking him out.
With that dealt with, Praetor could now talk with Blake. At least that was what he thought, until he caught her blade slashing down on him and biting into his forearm. With her this close up, he didn't want to risk hurting her and withdrew his flames.
"Blake." He started.
"You lied to me!" She hissed, pushing harder, her eyes ablaze with unshed tears and rage.
With a grunt, he pushed her off him with a backhand swipe. Blake flipped away, landing in a crouch with her pistol aimed at him.
"Leave, Blake."
"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me the truth!"
Praetor sighed, she always was stubborn. Beneath his helmet, he couldn't help but smile. Then something flitted in the corner of his eye. A flash of mint green behind the far warehouse. Emerald. His swelling pride instantly vanished. If Cinder got a hold of Blake's relation to him, she would use it against him. He took a deep breath and put his hands in a ready position, this needed to look as convincing as possible.
"It's been some time since we fought, Blake. Show me how much you've grown."
Though she was confused, Blake still attacked. She opened fire as Praetor tore towards her. The instant he threw a punch, she created a clone and dashed to the side, letting it get destroyed as he barrelled through it and was suddenly frozen in place. She had learned to incorporate Dust into her attacks, she was getting better.
The ice didn't last long as Praetor flared and fire roared, melting the ice into vapour. Bullets pinged across his back, though as he turned to the source, his vision was suddenly jerked to the side as a flaming punch careened into the side of his helmet, courtesy of one Yang Xiao Long.
The blond girl slid to a halt beside Blake, her hair glowing brighter than a bonfire. "You alright, Kitty?"
"I'm fine Yang, a little pissed, but fine." Blake panted, apparently that trick with the ice had taken a bit out of her.
As Praetor made to regain his footing, his body was rocked by several sharp impacts that sent him staggering. From up on a nearby roof, Ruby Rose waved down at her team before leaping down to ground level.
Taiyang really wasn't bragging, his daughters will be very dangerous ladies when they grow up. Yang punched hard and could take a beating in return, but Ruby was quick and still a problem at range. He glanced to the shadows, Emerald was still watching. It pained him, but they'd probably be stronger for it. Ruby would be first, then Yang and finally Blake. But first, he needed to be faster. He channelled his light into Arc and got ready to run.
He couldn't, his legs wouldn't move. Looking down, he saw the tell-tale glyph of the Schnee family, this one was glowing black. Gravity Dust, if it was used properly it could lighten one's self or make another inconceivable heavy. A glance behind him revealed the last member of his daughter's team. Ice blue dress and silver hair, definitely a Schnee. She was also sweating heavily, likely from the strain of keeping him still. Foolish.
Arc energy surged through him as Praetor leapt backwards and out of the glyph's influence. The sudden change sent the Schnee girl stumbling and he was there to capitalise on it. He seized her by her frail and slender neck and hurled her towards Blake and Yang.
Blake cursed herself for losing focus. While she was glad to have her friends back her up, they distracted her just enough for Praetor to take advantage of it. He broke out of Weiss' gravity prison that could've locked down a King Taijitsu and threw her at them. Both Blake and Yang barely noticed it in time. Sadly though, Weiss hit her head on Yang's bracers and was unconscious. They were already down one member and it was soon about to be two with the way that Praetor was chasing down Ruby.
To the young girl's credit, she did a damn good job of keeping away from him. Utilising her Gravity cartridges and semblance to their fullest, though it was only a matter of time before she slipped up.
Then she was backed into a corner and Ruby's only escape lay with making an attack against Praetor, something that Blake knew was an incredibly risky, and not to mention stupid, move. Yet Ruby was always a risk-taker, growing up with Yang left her with some bad habits.
Even with the speed the two were moving, Blake could see it all happen in slow motion. Ruby kicked off, preparing to slash at Praetor when he got close and indeed he did get close. Closer than Ruby thought, if her wide eyes were anything to judge. Praetor latched a hand around the haft of Crescent Rose and wrenched it away and Ruby with it. The younger girl slammed into the ground and with her vision fading into darkness, the last thing she would see would be her beloved scythe being shattered under his foot.
With Crescent Rose now in several pieces and Ruby incapacitated, Yang could only see red. The blonde's golden locks glowing like the sun on a bright day as the heat rolled off her.
Praetor knew about Yang's semblance, Blake recalled telling him about her fights in Signal. About how Yang dominated the sparring ring thanks to her ability to take damage and give it back two-fold. His solution to the problem, 'Don't get hit'.
That was exactly how he took down Yang. He prevented her from landing any attacks on him and dealt far more damage than she could handle. After deflecting several wide blows and numerous counter-attacks, he snagged Yang's wrists in each hand as she tried to punch him, held them apart before giving her a vicious head-butt that bloodied her nose and followed up with a full-force kick to the solar plexus that sent her through several metal containers.
Blake hadn't seen Yang look so haggard. Her hair was covered in dirt, small scrapes were beginning to welt on her face and bits of loose cloth looked close to tearing. The blonde brawler didn't seem to mind as her hair glowed even brighter and a transparent, flame-like shroud engulfed her. Accompanying this shroud was a furious cry that seemed to shake the air around her.
In response to this show of power, Praetor remained silent as his own flames burst into being around him. He was even silent when he cracked his knuckles in a threatening way, inviting her challenge.
Yang launched from her position, her right arm cocked and ready to deliver a punch at full strength. Sadly for her, the blow never connected, having been slapped aside by Praetor the instant it came in range. Yang was quick though, using the momentum to try and hook a kick at his head. He intercepted it with his right hand, stopping the movement altogether and swung her overhead and back into the ground.
Praetor didn't give her time to recover, moving over to her and stomping on her forearm. Instead of the crunch of bone that he expected, there was a force stopping him just above her skin. Her Aura was unusually strong, but then again, Praetor was holding back. The flames around his leg flared brighter as he brought down his foot once more. When his boot slammed down, a wave of fire rushed out around him. Just barely over the roar, Blake could hear Yang cry out in pain.
Believing he was done with her, Praetor began to stalk towards Blake. Only to stop when he felt an explosion impact on his back. Wheeling around, he saw Yang stumbling to her feet, her left arm dangling limp and her right bracer smoking.
"I'm not done yet." She growled.
Praetor's shoulders rose and fell in a huff before striding back to Yang, slowly picking up speed. The blonde fired on the incoming Titan as fast as she could, but whatever shells that hit him did nothing to slow him down. He slammed into Yang with his shoulder first, carried her a ways and pinned her against a warehouse wall. From there Praetor used his free arm to land blow after blow onto her exposed stomach, each time her face contorting in pain until her eyes glazed over.
At this point, Blake was fully back on her feet and her hands even steadier than before. She couldn't bear to look at her friends, it just hurt too much.
"I'm sorry, Blake." He was suddenly in front of her, barely an arm's length away.
"Saying sorry, won't forgive you." She hissed through her teeth. Quick as a snake, she lashed out with her blade, only for Praetor to lean away, the blade scraping his armour with the tip. Her assault didn't let up as she even mixed in her semblance to try and confuse him. The slashes always missed by a hair until Praetor saw a lull in her attacks and took the opportunity to try and knock her out as painlessly as possible.
His fist phased through her, beneath his helmet, Praetor's eyes widened as he saw Blake reappear below with her blade poised to strike.
Shlick
The blade slid right through his gauntlet and pierced out the other end. Blake breathed heavily as she felt the sticky red substance slid over her fingers. Not hearing anything from Praetor, she looked up to see him also breathing heavily, but there was no sound. In her mind, a little voice whispered. 'He hurt your friends, he needs to feel pain.' Blake found herself agreeing with this voice and twisted the blade, earning a pained grunt from Praetor.
"Blake." She heard him rumble. He reached up with his free hand and pulled off his helmet, revealing a warm, tooth filled smile. "Good work. I'm proud of you."
That was all she would remember as he knocked her out.
AN: Holy crap, this ended up being over 5k words, which is a lot for me. Now I've had most of this ready, and I've written every thing from after Praetor shows up in one day. Hopefully you guys don't take this too negatively, saying "OMG he totally brutalised RWBY!" Yes, I did. This was one of the biggest changes I can imagine and was planning since this idea popped into my a year ago. Instead of team RWBY saving the day and going home happy, this ends on rather sour note while teaching the girls something they learned a much harder way in Canon.
That lesson being, You can't win everything.
For those that didn't read the notice, I rewrote chapter 2, so go check it out.
Until Next Time
~Dys