She left her switchblade with me, Yang thought frantically as she raced up the stairs. She might not intend to come back! Like I'm letting her get away!
The door flew open with such force that it busted off some hinges. Yang tumbled inside so loudly that Blake and Ruby thought they were about to get robbed.
"Yang!" Ruby exclaimed in a chiding tone. "Where have you been?!"
Now that it was nighttime, Yang had been gone for several hours when she said she'd be back in only one. She gasped for breath as she tried to organize her thoughts.
"Weiss-" Yang blubbered as she panted with her hands on her knees. "Whitley- the asshole-!"
She's gone, Yang thought. She's gone and it's all my fault! Because I'm weak.
From the dreadful news, Ruby almost jumped. "He took Weiss?!"
"He took Weiss!" Yang repeated, equally panicked. "Well- she went with him, but she had no choice! She could die- the fucker wants to kill her- wha- what do we do?! I can't lose her! I love her!"
To ground her and slap the panic out of her, Blake shook her shoulders and met her gaze. Golden pools pierced through desperate lilac. Together, they took a deep breath.
"We know you love her, but you need to get a grip," Blake advised slowly, liking the fact that she admitted her true feelings. "She's not going to die, so get that out of your head."
Somehow, her words made Yang feel better by the tiniest bit. If they all worked together, she felt like they could do anything. Even face off against a cruel gang.
When a couple of tears escaped lilac eyes, Blake wiped them away with her thumb. Yang took a few deep breaths and recalled what Weiss had told her before being knocked out.
"She said we can find her with the drone? What does that mean?" Yang asked.
It was then that Yang recalled advice she received from a beloved mentor.
Ms. Goodwitch said to work on problems together in a relationship. The drone must've been Weiss' way of doing that with a clear conscience.
"Our drone Brutis?" Ruby was more confused than ever. "What does Brutis have to do with- oh. Oh my god."
"What?!" Yang shouted, desperate for an answer.
"Our GPS tracker was missing," Ruby recalled the last couple of days and how she was disappointed it was lost. "She took it!"
It was clear to them that Weiss had a plan without telling them. Probably to give them a choice. Stay safe and away, or come to rescue her from the jaws of her bloodthirsty brother and father.
The choice was obvious.
Blake put her hands on her girlfriend's shoulders and lightly shook her in desperation. "We have to go get your drone. Weiss probably doesn't have until tomorrow," she added, letting them know how dire the situation was.
Ruby nodded in agreement. "We can't lose someone again."
It was hard enough to lose both parents. Ruby honestly didn't think she or her sister could handle another tragedy. It would break them to the point that no amount of therapy would make it better.
"I refuse to let her be a memory," frantically, Yang dashed into her room and her voice thundered through the apartment. "Where the hell are my brass knuckles?!"
Blake followed her and put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, which elicited a wince. "Yang, you can't panic. Stay calm. We'll do this, alright? Is your shoulder hurt?"
"I'm fine- I was almost shot, this is nothing," Yang stammered when her friend tried to keep the peace. "Okay, okay, calm," she took a deep breath. "Oh, there they are."
Hidden under a pile of magazines, glistened golden bracers. While she grabbed the weapon, Blake retrieved her katana from the wall in her room. Ruby stood by the door with her slingshot and her endless, large dart pouch.
Blake stood next to her girlfriend, perturbed. "How are we going to fight a gun?"
Going up against a killing machine wasn't exactly ideal, but they didn't have a choice. That didn't mean they weren't scared by the possible outcomes.
"I have a plan," Yang reassured them. "All you guys need to do is trust me."
Somehow, her words put them at ease if only a little. When Yang was determined to do something or had a plan, she normally pulled through. Surely, the three of them could pull off even the most difficult of tricks.
"Come on!" Ruby shouted. "Now's the time!"
Together, the three launched out of their apartment. Ruby felt such a sense of urgency that she didn't lock the door. Only slammed it shut, despite the neighbor's chagrin.
They sprinted faster than lightning- faster than they ever had in their entire lives. Normally, the walk to school was about fifteen minutes. Somehow, the girls arrived in just over five. When they arrived at the front door, they panted relentlessly.
"I haven't… tested my endurance like that… in a long time…" Blake heaved several breaths and leaned over her knees.
While Blake and Ruby tried to catch their breath, Yang wiggled the knob, only for it to not budge. Instinctively, she rammed her body into the steel and whimpered when it didn't budge a centimeter.
"Shit, it's locked. Should we try a window?"
The problem with that is that it would definitely set off the alarm. Blake remained quiet and pulled out a contorted bobby pin from her stocking and smirked at them.
"Move."
To fit the lock, Blake twisted the pin several times. The sisters watched in suspense, hoping her underhanded skills would pull through. The sounds of frogs from a nearby pond lingered in the ears, along with the fiddling of metal. It almost calmed them down and provided them with a temporary sense of normalcy.
"What if we set off an alarm?" Ruby thought out loud.
Blake's cat ears flicked in acknowledgment, but she was too focused to answer her question.
"Who cares," Yang said, not thinking about any potential legal trouble. "It's this or a student dies. There's really no choice."
Ruby seemed to accept the answer with a shrug. She was right.
At last, the lock loudly clicked. Blake's cat ears flicked wildly from the much-anticipated noise. When she meticulously turned the pin sideways, another click resounded.
The faunus sighed in relief as she pulled out the pin and twisted the knob. "I'm still the best."
"Damn right," Yang agreed and yanked open the door.
After the small break, they felt rejuvenated. Ruby took the lead and darted inside. The girls followed and struggled to keep up with her intense speed. Ruby was born to sprint. She should've been on the track and field team.
Fortunately, no alarms screamed as they dashed along. At least that was a tiny silver lining to the situation.
"It's so creepy at night!" Ruby exclaimed as they ran through the halls, holding up her phone flashlight for the group to see.
Blake glanced around and breathed between pants. "I wish… it was dark like this… all the time."
Under the limited light, Blake looked like a samurai on a mission with her katana along her side. Ruby made a mental note to encourage her to be a samurai for Halloween.
It felt like an eternity, but they finally reached the gym. Since they were close, they ran harder than ever and skidded to a stop in the small tech club room.
Inside, large metal cabinets rested in the back of the room. All the drones and drone parts were located inside, but another lock taunted them.
Ruby fruitlessly fiddled with the lock and groaned in frustration. "Blake, we need you again."
Confidently, Blake pulled out the pin and began the familiar process of picking the lock. This one was different since it was much smaller and intricate. Several minutes passed as the sisters paced around the room.
"Come on… come on…" Yang mumbled, unable to ignore her sense of urgency.
Blake bit her bottom lip to concentrate. "Almost got it."
"Can you do it?" Ruby asked, knowing every second meant Weiss was further in danger.
At last, a click rang out.
"Did you doubt me?" Blake asked in feign offense.
Hastily, Ruby opened the drawers and grabbed the tiny drone with two fingers. She handled it like it was made entirely of shattered glass and cautiously placed it on a nearby table.
"Not for a second."
After Yang set a laptop next to the drone, Ruby plopped in her familiar seat. When she was here like this, she remembered all the times she and Weiss met to create the drone. It brought her comfort. The partners were right here not even two days ago.
"It's so cute," Yang commented and poked the tiny drone once. "And so little!"
Carefully, Blake placed it in her palm. "It's smaller than my hand."
"Don't touch him too much," Ruby advised as she typed on the keyboard. "Brutis is fragile."
From the warning, Blake carefully placed him right next to her girlfriend. Ruby wanted to pet the drone to feel comforted, but she had a mission to accomplish. Silver eyes widened at the computer screen, and she abruptly gasped.
"What is it, Rubes?!" Yang exclaimed.
Ruby stared at the screen in awe. "Weiss is a genius."
Various low-quality graphics appeared such as buildings, roads, rivers, and trees. The area around them was mapped out perfectly, meaning the GPS had been set up ahead of time. And it wasn't because of Ruby.
When Ruby zoomed out with the mouse pad, a red dot blinked on the screen. It was unlike the dull and surrounding areas, perfectly highlighting that one spot.
"Look," Ruby pointed in excitement. "That little dot should be her."
She's still alive, Yang thought in overwhelming relief. Wait, where the hell is she?
"Where is that?" Yang asked the room, hoping they'd know.
It looked like only one building within miles. Wherever Weiss was, they dragged her possibly to the middle of nowhere.
"It might be a warehouse," Blake guessed and pointed at the surroundings. "See, only trees are around it. This could be good. At least the gang isn't endangering others."
"It's also sketchy as hell," Yang added, thinking that could be a perfect spot to hide a body. "What're we gonna do? That's one hour's distance if we're lucky."
In frustration, Blake bit her bottom lip. "Not even Ruby can run that."
Ruby gasped in realization. "We need a car, motorcycle, scooters. We need something!"
While they pondered in the tense silence, there was a shuffle sound on the other side of the door. Since it was so unexpected, the girls whipped their heads up. Before they could react, a familiar figure appeared.
"What trouble have you gotten into now?"
It was none other than-
"Ms. Goodwitch?!"
Miss Goodwitch is one cool cat. Lyrics from Redo: "Quickly now, the past will align. Before it fades you've gotta save it from demise. And now's the time! Let it begin!"
Stay dandy,
~Toto