Chapter 7
Day 2: Late Morning
Atlas
The first thing that Yang noticed as she groggily awoke, was the mild pounding in her head. The second thing she noticed was that she was lying on the hard floor. The third thing she felt was the slightly cool hand that was clasped in her own.
Yang's eyes shot open. She was indeed lying on the floor, explaining the developing crick in her neck. Glancing up she realized she was lying right next to Blake's bed, and it was her partner's hand that she was holding. She felt her cheeks get hot but felt no desire to let go and end the moment.
Yang took stock of herself; she had a pillow under her head and was covered in a blanket, both from her own bed. She saw that she was also wearing her sleep shirt and sweatpants. 'Oh good,' she thought with relief, 'I didn't just pass out on the floor.'
Although she remembered having more than a few drinks at the club, it would have been humiliating if Blake had had to babysit her into bed. Yang smiled to herself, 'She looked really cute last night…' she thought, 'it's nice to see Blake cut loose, dust knows we both needed it. We should go dancing more often…'
Her eyes roamed back up to study her partner's sleeping face, only to find her eyes open and staring right at her. Yang started slightly, not expecting Blake to be awake just yet. The corners of Blake's mouth turned up, amused at Yang's startled face.
"Morning." Blake said, her voice slightly raspy. "How are you feeling?" she asked, after clearing her throat.
Yang sat up slightly, "Uh, not too bad considering the amount of drinks I had last night." She had a mild headache, and her mouth was a bit dry but that was about it.
Blake smirked, "You'd be dying right now if it wasn't for me."
"Oh?"
"Yeah," the cat faunus replied, "You got sassy with me about keeping hydrated, so I taped two water bottles to your hands and made you drink them on the way home."
"That's...starting to ring a bell." Yang replied quietly, some fuzzy memories beginning to return to her. "Want to remind me why I'm sleeping on the floor?"
"That was on your insistence actually." Blake said with a small chuckle.
Yang's eyebrows shot up, "Mine? Did I say why?" She racked her brain but at that point in the night she had been exhausted and more than a little drunk.
"That's partially my fault actually…" Blake said, blushing a little, "I was also...fairly intoxicated last night, I slammed my shin into the bathroom door. I was a little over dramatic about it and you got all worried, and insisted on sleeping on the floor to keep an eye on me."
"Heh, sorry about all that…" Yang said sheepishly.
Blake smiled, "Don't apologize, It was actually pretty cu-" she cleared her throat again, "It was nice." she finished, her cheeks turning the slightest shade of pink.
"Ok, that makes sense…" Yang said, "One more question: what's up with…" she nodded at their entwined hands.
Blakes eyes widened as she slowly looked down as if just now realizing that they were holding hands. "Uh," she said, her cheeks turning even pinker, "We weren't doing this when I fell asleep last night."
Yang laughed nervously, her own cheeks getting hot. However neither of the girls let go. "Last night was a ton of fun!" Yang said, trying to defuse the awkwardness, "We need to go clubbing again sometime soon!"
"Oh definitely." Blake agreed, smiling, "If I'd known how many people would buy me drinks just from hanging around you, I'd have done this a long time ago!" she said with a smirk.
"Hey that wasn't all me," Yang said innocently, "at least two of those were from guys trying to get into your pants, and one from a girl if I recall correctly."
"Ok, and what about the other…" she began counting on her fingers, "seven drinks we got bought?"
"Ok that was me." Yang acquiesced, "but in all fairness, you've got that sneaky ninja-thing going on, they probably just didn't see ya." she said with a sly grin.
Blake laughed and Yang savored the sound, it was so rare to hear her laugh like that these days, it always made Yang happy to hear it.
"But uh, I noticed you." Yang said, "You looked great out there!" Blake's eyebrows shot up. "I mean I've never seen dance moves quite like that!" she said, the words coming out in a rush, "They're hard not to notice!"
A soft smile crossed Blake's face, "Your moves were pretty great too. Except all those times you bumped into me." she smiled mischievously, "If I didn't know better I'd say you were doing that on purpose…"
Yang's eyes widened, she was about to reply when both of their scrolls chimed, indicating a text message. "Ah, that must be Ruby and Weiss." Yang said, thankful for the welcome distraction, "Ruby's text said they'd be back in the morning." she grabbed for her scroll. "Huh, it's from Ironwood: 'Report to my office at your earliest convenience'." she gave an amused snort, "No, that's not ominous at all."
Blake arched an eyebrow and nodded, "Why don't you hop in the shower first, I think you're going to want to wash your hair after last night."
"Yeah that's fair." Yang agreed, she did feel kind of sticky and gross. With a pang of disappointment, she let go of her partner's hand; she thought she saw a brief frown pass across Blake's face but it was so fast she might just have imagined it.
"I'll get our gear ready," Blake said, throwing the covers off, "He's probably got another mission for us."
Yang flashed her a thumbs up and ducked into the bathroom.
Yang stepped into the piping hot shower and began to wash the previous night off her. 'I think I just have to tell her at this point.' She thought as she lathered up her hair, 'Even If Blake doesn't feel the same way, it might at least dispel the awkwardness…' She began to rinse herself off. 'Tonight,' she decided, 'I'll tell her tonight. Didn't Penny say something about the aurora or something yesterday? We'll go stargazing or something I don't know…' Her decision made and finally feeling clean again, she quickly dried herself and stepped back into the room wrapped in a towel.
"Hey, you wanna go stargazing tonight?" She asked quickly before she lost her nerve, "We're due for some partner bonding time." The excuse was weak and she knew it.
Blake was sitting on the bed staring intently at her scroll, a deep frown on her face; she quickly looked up at Yang's question, the frown disappearing. "Uh, yeah I'd love that..." she replied, the corners of her mouth turning up, but the frown quickly returned. She rose from the bed, "but I really think you should check the news…" she headed into the bathroom, patting Yang on the shoulder on the way past her. Yang pulled up the news and started reading, as she suited up, her frown deepening with every line she read.
A short time later, they left the dorm and began walking towards Ironwood's office, discussing the events they missed last night; they had actually been falling asleep just as the rally had unexpectedly ended in violence. Robyn's loss was extremely disappointing of course, but both of them agreed that there was no way that Penny had attacked innocent bystanders, it had to be some kind of setup.
They were ushered straight into the office when they arrived. "Thank you for coming so promptly." the General said. He looked tired.
"Of course." Blake said, "Is this about the events of last night?"
"Among other things, yes..." he replied wearily.
"It wasn't Penny." Yang stated emphatically, cutting Ironwood off before he could elaborate further, "She wouldn't do that."
Ironwood nodded in agreement, "My intelligence people agree with you, as do I. The footage showing Penny attacking people that got 'leaked' has been heavily edited and doctored. It was a very good forgery but it didn't fool my experts. We gathered data from witnesses' scrolls and managed to get a look at the real assailant. Do either of you recognize this person?"
His scroll projected a short video clip into the air, showing an acrobatic person leaping around the crowded rally, blades whirling around them. The video paused showing a clear picture of a person neither of them had seen in person, but had heard more than enough to recognize him anywhere.
"Tyrian." Blake hissed, her voice full of malice.
Ironwood nodded, "We came to the same conclusion. Which also means that Atlas is Salem's next target, just as I've suspected for a long while."
There was a moment of silence as Ironwood contemplated the photo on his scroll. Yang cleared her throat, "So what do you need us to do? Hunt him down?"
He looked up and shook his head, "My people are still trying to locate him; I have a different assignment for the two of you. Robyn Hill has taken her loss last night very poorly. She's been commandeering critical supply shipments for Amity on their way out of Mantle. These shipments are critical, we could have Amity's basic communications systems up and running within two days if the right parts get there." he sighed, "I've been very lenient towards her in the past but I can't abide her lawlessness any longer."
"What do you need from us?" Blake asked, her voice full of apprehension.
"We're setting a trap." he replied, "Several shipments will be traveling through the city this afternoon, you two will be stationed in one of the trucks and teams of the Ace Ops in others. If she raids your vehicle, you will engage and attempt to apprehend her while the other units will converge on your location." He tapped a button on his scroll and transferred the mission details to them. Yang nodded, giving the information a cursory glance.
"Hey," Blake said, her voice slightly uneasy, "Why aren't the Ace Ops here for this briefing?"
"I wasn't intending on briefing you until later, but it came up in conversation so…" he trailed off looking uneasy, crossing his arms over his chest.
"So why are we here then?" Yang asked, her eyes narrowing.
He sighed heavily, his finger nervously tapping against his bicep. "You two are, of course, aware that Ruby and Weiss were sent out on a mission yesterday." Yang's heart dropped, nothing positive could come after that, "It was a simple supply and repair mission to a surveillance outpost that had gone silent. Just before reaching their target, we lost communications and radar lock with their Manta and were unable to reestablish contact."
Blake gasped and her hand went up to her mouth in horror, she felt Yang's temperature shoot up by several degrees.
"So where are they?" Yang asked forcefully, "Where's my sister?"
Ironwood made a placating gesture, but Blake couldn't help but notice that he was studying both of them closely.
"I won't have the manpower to mount a search until tonight. I have an entire flight scheduled to head out and search the area. There will be a blizzard tonight, and visibility will be poor, but still."
Yang nodded, her anger dissipating slightly.
"Wha-what do you think happened?" Blake asked, her voice shaky with emotion.
Ironwood shook his head slightly, "We're not certain, but judging by the last readings from the radar, it seems likely that the Manta crashed."
Yang's face fell as she felt her heart plummet. 'Ruby and Weiss are out in the snow all alone…' she thought, her mind flying through worst case scenarios, 'they could be injured and starving. Or they might be…'
Her head snapped up, a look of determination on her face, "You send us with the rescue flight." she demanded, pointing for emphasis. She wasn't going to sit by while her sister and one of her closest friends were in danger.
"I'm afraid that's not an option." Ironwood said firmly, "The mission to capture Robyn needs the two of you; you have the skillsets to bring her down if it comes down to it, I can't waste you on a recon mission. Do your jobs and let my people do theirs."
"My sister and my friend are missing and you expect us to just expect us to forget about them in favor of hunting down someone just trying to do good for their community?" Yang asked, fixing the General with a defiant glare.
"I do." he replied forcefully, "Because you two are Huntresses and I expect you to act professionally and take orders from your commanding officer."
Yang stepped back, his words striking directly at her pride.
Ironwood's face softened, "I understand what you're going through." he said sympathetically, "The waiting is always excruciating. I promise that you will be among the first to know if we find anything on the whereabouts of Ruby and Weiss." He tapped a few keys on his Scroll and theirs chimed in response. "If you're interested, this is the mission intel I provided them. Please report to the vehicle bay by 17:00. Dismissed."
"Wait." Yang said as he turned to walk back towards his desk, "Does anyone else know?"
"I've only informed your uncle as of right now. You can tell your huntsman friends if you wish, but tell no one else; we don't want to panic the civilians any more right now."
Yang and Blake nodded and swiftly left the office.
Day 2: Afternoon
"Seriously, what the hell was he thinking?" Yang said as she obliterated two training targets with rounds from Ember Celica.
"Their mission was...weird." Blake agreed, using a shadow clone to boost herself into the air to engage some flying targets.
The two girls had gone to the training room to distract themselves from worrying about their missing teammates too much. JNRO had come by to train and they had informed the four about what had happened to their friends. They were, of course, extremely concerned in their own right, but had tried to give the two words of encouragement, before they left. "I know they're going to be ok," Jaune had said, "If Ironwood is on the case, there's no way they won't be found." Yang wasn't so sure about that.
"He sent them out there with that little information? It's blatantly irresponsible." Yang fumed as the training program finished up, displaying her final score. It definitely wasn't her best, but she was a tad distracted at the moment so she gave herself a bit of a break.
Blake nodded in agreement, finishing off the last of her training drones and stowing Gambol Shroud on her back, "All of the missions we've been sent on so far had full intel briefings; none of us have been sent in that blind before." the fur on her ears stood up slightly, "And yet he sent them anyway...it's…"
"Suspicious?"
"I don't know about that." Blake shrugged, "But it is unusual. She thought for a moment, "Ok it is a little suspicious, have a look at this." She pulled up a map of Atlas and the surrounding areas on her Scroll, "Pull up the map Ironwood gave Ruby and Weiss, and compare it to this map that I…uh...acquired from the military database."
"Acquired, huh?" Yang said with a smirk, quickly flipping through the files on her Scroll, "You totally hacked in didn't you?"
"Hey," Blake retorted, "I've got that 'sneaky-ninja-thing' remember? It's my job to know these things."
They held their scrolls up, Blake's military map showed two more outposts to either side of the mission target. "These two bases are completely missing from the mission briefing." Blake said, "They're several miles away from the mission base but it would be fairly simple for them to send people out to repair the base...so why did he send two huntresses instead? And why did he omit them from the briefing?"
Yang slammed her mechanical fist into the wall in frustration, "Augh! None of this adds up!"
Blake shrugged tiredly, "Maybe we just can't see the big picture right now. I'm sure Ironwood was trying to make the right call."
"Well he made the wrong one." Yang snarled bitterly.
Blake couldn't really argue with that. She put a comforting hand on Yang's shoulder, "Come on, lets go get ready to leave. We still have to pick up supplies from the quartermaster."
Yang sighed and left the training room with her partner, Ironwood was right about one thing, the endless waiting was excruciating.
Day 2: Evening
The two girls were riding in the back of one of the transport trucks as it wove its way through the streets of Mantle. Yang's foot was rapidly tapping a nervous beat against the metal floor as she stared straight ahead at the hatch, clearly lost in thought.
Blake noted that Yang had been uncharacteristically silent for the entire ride. "Yang, you know you can talk to me right?" She said putting a hand on Yang's thigh, the tapping stopped.
Yang let out a quiet growl of frustration. "I'm just sick of all the secrets." She sighed heavily, "We're hiding the true extent of Salem's powers from Ironwood, and I'm fairly certain that he knows more about Ruby and Weiss than he's telling us." She let out another heavy sigh and rested her chin in her hands. "Why can't we trust each other?"
Blake was silent for a moment, "He's also lying to Robyn. If she just knew what was going-"
"She can't know, Blake." Yang said, standing up suddenly, "It's not our call to make. All I know is we have to bring her in."
Blake frowned, staring at the floor, "She's just trying to help her people, she has no way of knowing that what Ironwood is doing will help everyone in Remnant. How can you be so against her?"
"Because if they can get Amity partially online, we can find out if Ruby and Weiss are safe. Robyn is actively preventing Amity from being completed, she's actively preventing us from finding out if our team is ok." Yang said worry creeping into her voice, "How can you be for her?"
"Because she's ME Yang!" Blake snapped at her, causing Yang to recoil slightly, "or at least a version of me that could have been." she said more softly. "The Happy Huntresses are a lot like what the White Fang was intended to be before Adam corrupted it. They help their community peacefully if they can and by gentle force if absolutely necessary." Blake looked Yang right in the eyes. "I can easily put myself in her shoes and see myself doing exactly what she's doing right now. She thinks the system has failed her and her people and sees no other option than to take matters into her own hands."
Yang sat back down, "Well what are we supposed to do? We're kind of in a no win situation."
"We tell her the truth…" Blake replied simply, "About Amity and what it's going to be used for. I think she can be persuaded to listen, she's probably desperate for allies right now. It's worth a shot at least."
Yang thought for a moment, "Ok…We'll do it your way." she said with a smile, "Worst comes to worst, she just beats us up!"
Just then, there was a squealing of brakes as their truck slammed to a halt. They looked at each other and prepared themselves for combat.
A few minutes later, the two of them stood in a dark alley facing off with Robyn Hill herself. The three of them were breathing hard from the blows they had just traded, Robyn managing to hold her own against the two novice huntresses.
"Ironwood is going to have to send more than a couple of kids if he wants to bring me in." Robyn said cockily.
"We'll you're in luck, our truck being stopped means the Ace Ops are converging on our location as we speak." Yang replied, her hands still up and ready to fight if she tried anything, "So we don't have much time."
"Time for what, Fisticuffs?" she sneered, "Time enough to stall me till Ironwood's other thugs get here?"
"No." Blake said emphatically, "Time to tell you the truth."
"Again, stalling." Robyn said, beginning to turn away from them.
"No, Wait!" Yang called after her, "The supplies you're raiding are for a new communication tower!"
Robyn stopped, her eyes narrowing, "Go on…"
"Ironwood Is repurposing Amity Colosseum to be a communications hub for all of Remnant."
"We'd be able to contact people in other kingdoms!" Yang said, "People on the tundra, even." Robyn gave her an odd look at the last bit. "Please." Yang said, "The tower has to be finished, Robyn."
The older woman snapped her hand out, "Take my hand, quick." Blake looked at Yang for a moment, then tentatively placed her hand in Robyn's palm. "Now say it again, what Ironwood is doing with the tower."
"He's building a new communications tower out of Amity." Blake said calmly, "He's trying to help everyone, not just Atlas."
Robyn's aura turned green and her eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Huh. Ok, you're telling the truth." She dropped Blake's and pointed at Yang. "What's your personal investment in this tower, Blondie?"
"How did you-?"
"I'm very good at reading people. Now spill." she said quickly.
Yang sighed, "My sister and my close friend, the other half of my team, crashed out on a mission on the tundra. Without Amity, we have no way of contacting them, no way to know if they're ok."
Robyn nodded understandingly, "So why is he keeping it a secret? Why not tell everyone?"
"Because there are people who are actively trying to sabotage the entire Kingdom and he doesn't know who to trust." Yang said, "The same people are likely behind my sister's disappearance."
"So who are they?" Robyn asked, "And don't tell me you can't say."
Yang shrugged sympathetically, "We can't. But you gotta trust us, nobody can know about Amity until it's done. They just need a little more time...if not for the kingdom's sake then do it for my team...please…"
Robyn groweld in frustration, "FINE, but you'd better-"
They all froze as they heard the voices of approaching soldiers.
"Go." Yang called to Robyn, "We'll throw them off your trail."
Robyn nodded and began to turn away, "Hey," she called, turning back, "I'm sorry to hear about your sister and friend. I once met Ruby briefly, she seems like a good kid."
Yang nodded, "She is. And thanks, good luck!" The three sprinted off in opposite directions.
Yang and Blake ran out of the alley and past a small group of soldiers, "She slipped us!" Yang called, "She headed this way!"
Day 2: Night
Once Clover had arrived on the scene, they'd given the Ace Ops a story on how they'd engaged Robyn but she had ended up slipping away after getting the upper hand on them. The two girls had just spent the last hour helping to comb the area to no avail; the Happy Huntresses had been very thorough in their disappearing act. Now they were headed back to their dorm, walking slowly.
"Do you think it'll make a difference?" Yang asked Blake, "Telling Robyn the truth?"
Blake shrugged slightly, "She listened to us, and thanks to her semblance, she knows we're actually telling the truth. Now it's up to her to decide if it's worth it to let the tower be finished."
Yang sighed, nodding in agreement. She looked up, just visible above the lights of the city dancing green bands stretched into the distance. "Oh yeah, the Aurora. We were supposed to…"
The two girls looked at each other, an unspoken understanding passing between them; neither of them were in the right headspace for stargazing that night.
"Next time." Yang said.
"Next time." Blake agreed, nodding, "There'll be plenty of time for us to go stargazing while we're here in Atlas."
After finally making it back to the dorm, they both got changed and got ready for bed. Yang began to climb the ladder up to her top bunk, knowing it was going to be a fitful night of sleep for the both of them; she felt a tug on her foot.
"Hmm?" she asked, looking down. Blake was reaching up, one cool hand wrapped around her ankle, deliberately avoiding eye contact with her.
"Yang I…" Blake paused, gathering her thoughts, "Look, I'm just going to be blunt." Yang climbed back down and sat beside her. Blake finally looked at her partner, "I don't think either of us are going to sleep well tonight."
"Definitely not." Yang agreed.
"I-I-" Blake swallowed, "I don't want to sleep alone tonight." she said quietly. Yang's eyes widened and she felt her cheeks getting hot. "It's just I'm going to be all up in my own head and I just I…" Blake shoulders hunched and she wrapped her arms around herself, her ears flattening against her head, "It just gets so dark here and...the three of you comfort me. I listen to your breathing to help me fall asleep and now that I know they're lost out there-"
The torrent of words cut off as Yang wrapped her in a hug, "Blake you don't have to explain, all you have to do is ask." Yang gave her a reassuring smile, "Substitute teddy-bear Yang Xiao Long is on duty!" Blake gave her a small smile. "All joking aside," Yang continued more softly, "I think I need this tonight too. The room just feels so...empty knowing what happened."
Yang detached her mechanical arm, setting it on the floor and pulled a sort-of sock over the metal connector on her stump. She reached up and grabbed her pillow off her own bed and Blake scooted over, pressing her back against the wall. Yang laid down on her back in Blake's bed, pulling the covers up. After a few moments Blake scooted closer to her under the covers.
"Hm? You ok?" Yang asked.
"Yeah." Blake replied sheepishly, "I'll admit, another reason I asked to share a bed is that it gets REALLY cold in here and you're REALLY warm."
Yang laughed, "Fair enough. Luckily for you I'm also a part time space heater."
Blake chuckled and rested her head on Yang's shoulder. "Night Yang."
"G'night Blake."
They both slept better than they thought they would.
Surprise! It's a Yang and Blake chapter! This is my first time writing the two of them so please let me know if I captured them well. Ruby and Weiss will be back next chapter. As always, Thanks to V, my wonderful fiancé and editor, and of course thanks to you for reading!