"What the hell…"
Winter stopped dead in her tracks, and Blake, frantically following close behind, nearly crashed into her. The two had waded through scores of eager Valians and an inch of snow, trudging through miles of the City of Vale in a desperate attempt to catch up to Weiss. They had left behind the brighter lights of Central Vale and were closing in on the southern boroughs, where the buildings were frailer, the streets were emptier, and the air thinner. Old Vale, they called it, though still teeming with life thanks to their presence. The trail they left behind of disappointed followers could probably be seen from space, and even now a few stragglers desperately called for Blake's attention, hoping to snap a pick with the superstar Huntress. Blake couldn't get her mind off of the fact her only remaining friends could, so she was slightly distraught when Winter stopped her chase and just stood still, staring at her Scroll for several seconds.
"What?" Blake asked. "What's wrong?"
"The tracker must be acting up," Winter stated. "Weiss seems to be moving very… strangely."
"Well, maybe if we weren't standing here, we could—no, asshole, seriously, I can't give you an autograph." Blake shoved a rotund, clingy fan away from her, the same man who had been following her non-stop for four blocks and wouldn't stop complimenting her hair. The burdens of being famous. She turned back to Winter, trying to focus on her mission. "Where's Weiss?"
"That's the thing," Winter stated. "According to this, she's coming back toward us. Why would she be…"
Winter's thoughts were temporarily taken away from her Scroll when the revving of an engine overtook the city streets. Off in the distance, a sleek, red sports car peeled around the corner and sped toward them, going close to one hundred miles per hour on the empty street. The car raced toward them, its engine roaring like a lion. Several of the straggling fans jumped to the sidewalk to avoid the speeding vehicle, and before Blake or Winter could even comprehend it, it blasted past them, kicking up snow in Blake's face.
"Ah! Come on!" Blake groaned. She flipped off the driver as they sped into the heart of the City, shrinking into a minuscule red blur. "Watch the speed limit, fuckface! ThPeople are walkingere!" She sighed, brushing snow off of her blouse. Someone apparently was in a hurry. Now, if only Winter would show the same level of intensity.
Winter ignored Blake's complaints and the red car. They were unimportant. She was still trying to think. She opened her mouth to say something—and then another loud engine revved from behind the same street corner. Like before, a vehicle slid around the curb and raced toward them, plowing through the snow. Like before, its roar commanded their attention. Like before, it sped past Blake and Winter without any care for their safety, and the crowd screamed as it swerved around them.
But this time, it wasn't a car; it was a motorcycle, painted jet black and decked in flame decals. And this time, Blake got a good look at the blonde, bloodied, grinning rider as she hurried past, their gazes meeting only briefly in the split second before the bike raced into the night. Winter squinted, doubting if she really saw what she thought she saw.
"Was… that Yang on that motorcycle?"
Blake did not have an answer. She had zero context for what was happening. She was freezing, and confused, and was trying to piece together if that really was Yang or just some convincing doppelganger. This night wasn't going at all how she planned. She needed normalcy.
She did not get normalcy. Instead, the ground began to shake. A scream rang out from the distance. And, like before, something came careening around the far-off corner—not a sports car, or a bike, but a gigantic toad, bounding through the air and nearly crushing everything in its path. The enormous beast was enough to finally scare off the rest of the stragglers, and even the fat creeper ran away was the toad came leaping toward them. Winter and Blake held their ground, the former out of defiance, and the latter simply because she was too confused to move. With only a few tremendous leaps, the creature landed directly in front of the pair of Huntresses, stoic and proud. The two looked up to see its riders: Weiss, standing equally proud on top of the great beast, and Ruby, clinging to the toad's back for dear life, her face contorted in fear.
"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod…"
Weiss stared down at Blake and Winter, and she tried her best to ignore her sister's judging gaze. "Thought I saw you two."
"Weiss, what are you doing?" Winter chastised her.
"No time to explain. Get on," Weiss ordered. Winter scoffed.
"Are you crazy? You two need to get down from there now. You have no idea how much trouble you are in."
"We really don't have time to argue," Weiss said firmly. "Right, Ruby?"
Ruby didn't answer. She simply laid as flat as she could on top of the toad, trying to keep the contents of her stomach in. Winter growled.
"If you two think you can—Blake, where are you going?"
Blake wasn't listening. She was still confused as hell; Weiss's sudden return had only raised further questions. Why was Ruby covered in so much blood? Who were they chasing? Why was Yang riding that motorcycle—okay, actually, she had a pretty good guess why Yang chose to ride a motorcycle. But still, questions. However, none of that deterred her from using her Aura to jump up the toad's back and join her teammates. Clearly, there was some bullshit going on. But it was Team RWBY bullshit. She couldn't exactly sit it out.
"Sorry, Team duty calls," Blake shrugged. She had to admit, she wasn't exactly sad about leaving Winter behind. "We'll pick you up when we're done… or something."
"Thanks, Blake," Weiss said, giving Winter one last shameful glare before taking a deep breath and refocusing. She would make this up to her family somehow, assuming she didn't die first. "Hold onto something."
Blake looked down, seeing nothing but the toad's bare back. "Hold onto wh aaaaaaa!"
The toad leaped into the air, and suddenly the rest of Team RWBY was off chasing after Emerald, Ruby and Blake's screams of terror louder than any engine. Winter stood patient and still as she watched her sister and her terrible friends vanish down the city street. Her eyes narrowed to a sharp point, she groaned, and then she started her long march back the way she came.
"Die! Die! Die!"
Melanie's screams of rage went unanswered. Her flurry of sword strikes was met with only air. She fought with Penny on the third floor, their battle having taken them across the apartment complex. A new, long slit had opened up on her right side. Her blood boiled. Still, she could not land a hit.
Melanie threw the sword at Penny's head, but the Atlasian prodigy held out her arm, and the weapon stopped in midair, hovering still. Penny flicked her wrist. The sword turned around and launched toward Melanie, trying to pierce her skull. She slid underneath the blade, feeling the air rush past her nose. On the ground she approached, and she quickly kicked up her feet, trying to catch Penny off guard. Before her spiked heels could connect, two more swords flew out of nowhere and intercepted her. The clattering of blades sent sparks to the ground.
The twin stayed low. She had to keep herself small. At any moment, another blade could fly out and cut her. She kept her back pressed to the floor and kicked again. And again. And again. Her rapid-fire bicycle kicks came out furious, each one directed at Penny's face. Melanie pushed herself up with her arms, twisting and twirling in a vicious dance of blades. Penny weaved around them, bobbing her head only slightly to efficiently avoid the sharp edges. Those she could not avoid were deflected by her swords, and more sparks flew until the hall was alit in a constant, brilliant fury. Penny waited through Melanie's onslaught, studying her, finding and opening—found. At a break in the twin's attack, Penny hiked up her swords and drove them down toward Melanie's torso. Melanie panicked, rolled back to avoid getting skewered, popping up to her feet. She was left defenseless for just long enough for Penny to launch forward and kick her in the face, the rocket-powered propulsion of the impact sending Melanie spiraling back.
With distance reestablished, Penny held forward her arm. It was time to finish this.
Machine gun: inoperable.
Or not.
Penny looked at her arm expectantly.
Net: inoperable.
Tasers: inoperable.
Semi-automatic: inoperable.
She sneered. The damage to her arm hadn't miraculously healed. The limb was still sliced to ribbons, her hand barely attached to her wrist, black blood dripping everywhere. It was no surprise she couldn't operate at her full potential. She estimated her full power was around twenty percent. A full repair was in order back when she made it to Atlas. Ironwood was going to be pissed.
Footsteps. Moving quickly. Penny was too lost in her own world, and when her eyes snapped back to Melanie, it was too late to stop the twin from pouncing on top of her. Penny landed on her back, but Melanie rolled to stand up straight, towering over the cybernetic student. With a furious growl, Melanie jumped in the air and stomped hard into Penny's chest. A tube came loose and started spraying fluid up Melanie's heel. She did not repent.
"How hard is it for you to die?"
Melanie stomped, one foot at a time, drilling her heels into Penny's torso. Each blow caused Penny's vision to rupture into static and noise. Alarm sounds blared in her subconscious. She called for her swords, but they did not come to her. Too much damage to their targeting systems. Something inside her switched to backup power. Blood splattered into her face with each stomp. After five vicious blows, Melanie raised her foot over Penny's head and drove it down into her face.
At least, she tried. Penny craned her neck at the last moment, and the heel missed her skull by an inch. With Melanie off-balance from her missed attack, Penny struck hard. Her weapon systems may have been damaged, but she was titanium in flesh and muscle. She reached with her damaged hand and grabbed the back of Melanie's leg. With all of her might, she squeezed her calf, and the muscle popped beneath her fingers, exploding into pulp.
Melanie screamed in pain, falling to her knees. Penny had her moment. With the remnants of her strength, she rose to her feet, switching positions with the helpless twins. She thought about the mental torment she put Team RWBY through—the sheer delight in seeing the misery in others—and used that torment to fuel a kick directly to Melanie's ribs, shattering them like glass. The twin felt the air rush out of her body, and she gasped as she rolled onto her side, trying to alleviate the pressure. Penny refused to let her breathe. Her gaze turned cold as the memories of her torture came back to her. She stomped into Melanie's back as hard as she could.
Her screams of agony were music to her ears.
"You are pathetic," Penny said bluntly. She was barely standing, but she still seemed to be unstoppable. "Atlasian justice requires proper punishment. You're suffering should match what you've done to others. I'm not sure if that's possible."
Melanie rolled onto her back. Blood dribbled out of her mouth. She choked out a plea. "I… I give up. Please… let me go."
"You expect mercy when you've given none. And I thought Team RWBY didn't make any sense."
"You can't… can't get away with this," Melanie warned her. "We'll hunt you down. My mom… she's the most powerful woman in Mistral. She'll ruin you."
"Let her try," Penny warned. Though half of her face was stripped of its skin, Melanie could see the inner motors contort themselves into a sneer. "I cannot be ruined. I cannot be killed. You see that now, don't you?"
Melanie trembled as Penny raised her foot over her head. "What are you?"
What was she? She was Penny Polendina, Private First Rank. Atlas Academy. The Living Weapon. No. Wait. That was who she was. What was she? That was the important question, one she wasn't sure of herself. For one final moment, she paused, contemplating how to respond. She was the future. She was alive. She was not. She was herself.
Actually… why did Melanie deserve an answer anyway? She was going to be dead soon. Silly Penny. It really didn't matter.
Then, something hit Penny in the face. It wasn't hard, nor quick, nor did it leave a mark or damage her in any way. But it was something, enough to make Penny turn her gaze toward it. It was lying on the ground next to her, just sitting there, bloody and worthless.
It was Miltia's head.
Somebody threw Miltia's head at her face.
And while Penny was wondering why someone would throw a severed head at her face, she was distracted for just long enough that she didn't notice someone sprinting at her—not until a ring-shaped blade was driven directly through her chest.
The unknown assailant screamed, charging through Penny before the student could retaliate. The two blades of the ring caught her twice; one blade pierced straight through her breast and out her back, the other deep into her shoulder. The assailant drove Penny into the wall, impaling her against the stone, and all of Penny's remaining strength faded. She groaned, not in pain but in frustration, as her arms became limp by her side, and she became unable to pull herself free.
The new enemy took a step back, admiring her work with a haughty sneer. She was dressed in black from head to toe, but her face remained uncovered. Penny memorized her appearance. Tan skin. Short, dark hair cut above the ears. Icy blue eyes. Stubby nose. Thick brows. And that sneer that told Penny she would rather be anywhere but here. Penny waited for the enemy to finish her off, but she didn't attack her any further. For some reason, killing her wasn't a priority, or even an intention. From her position on the ground, the weakened Melanie looked up at her hero and weakly smiled.
"V-Vernal! I knew you'd come!" The enemy—this Vernal—looked at Melanie with disgust, even as the twin praised her. "Just in time, too. Thank you so—"
Vernal stomped hard on Melanie's stomach, and the twin screamed in horrible pain. Vernal shot daggers through her. When she spoke, her voice was hoarse.
"I told you," she warned. "Never… ever… contact me…"
"I'm… I'm sorry," Melanie whimpered. "We'll… we'll make sure to pay you. P-Pay you really good."
"I told you I want nothing to fucking do with you," Vernal hissed. She held a second ring-shaped blade in her left hand and pointed it down toward the bloodied twin. "You owe me so much more than that."
"And we'll give it to you," Melanie begged. "Just… just take us home."
Vernal considered slicing Melanie's throat right then and there. However, she held herself back for reasons Penny could not decipher. Whatever complicated relationship the pair shared, it was enough to save her life on this day. Whether it would help her in the future was outside the bounds of Penny's understanding. Vernal sighed, hooking her blade to a clip on her belt. She helped Melanie up to her feet, and then picked up Miltia's severed head, looking at it with a mix of pity and hatred. "Do I have to bring her, too?"
Melanie nodded. "Yes. And her body upstairs."
Vernal sighed. Fine. A job was a job.
The air in the hall shifted. Penny's vision blurred—no, the room blurred. And then, without warning, a portal opened up behind them, a swirling, black and red mass that crackled with power and mystery. Vernal shoved Miltia's head into Melanie's hands and then shoved Melanie away from her. Melanie hurried into the portal but stopped to give Penny one last mocking glance. She stuck out her tongue—a child to the end—and then vanished into the portal. Vernal crossed her arms and cautiously approached Penny, grabbing onto the ring blade still embedded deep into the cybernetic chest.
"I don't know what your problem with SPIDER is, kid," Vernal said coldly, "but trust me: they aren't worth the trouble. Forget our faces. Forget you were ever here, and they will, too. I don't want to have to clean up any more of their messes."
She pulled the blade out of Penny's torso, and Penny dropped to the ground, too exhausted to fight. Vernal took the reprieve to make her exit. She gave Penny a passing wave as she stepped into the portal.
"Oh, and next time? Cut both their heads off. You'll wish you did. Trust me."
The portal collapsed on top of her, and they were gone. Penny struggled to rise to her feet. Her green eyes lingered on the empty air. She massaged her wound. The twins were gone… SPIDER was gone. But there was still work to be done. They hadn't failed yet.
When Melanie bought her sports car, it was mostly for appearances. Sure, it was everything a girl could want in a car: slick, stylish, great handling, terrible safety measures. But it was mostly for sitting around or taking luxury drives through Mistrals. Melanie never expected it to be used in a high-speed chase, let alone when she wasn't driving. Emerald took the turn too fast. She panicked and yanked on the wheel, swerving the car at the last moment, barely avoiding a group of pedestrians. The wheels beneath her briefly lifted off the ground, but she was able to recover and continue speeding down the city roads.
"Shit, shit, shit…"
The wipers were on full blast, but the windshield was foggy from the snow. The bright lights of the city cast an awful glare that made it even harder to see in front of her. She was never the best driver t,o begin with, but now, hounded through the city by hour pissed off Huntresses, she was forced to put her reflexes to the ultimate test. The thruways above Vale were her best shot at escaping. Escape to where? She did not know. The adrenaline coursed through her veins, and she couldn't think past maneuvering around the cars directly in front of her. She was three city blocks from the exit. She just had to make it.
Then, she looked in her rearview mirror. Big mistake.
Yang was gaining on her, the fiery blonde weaving effortlessly around the cars that Emerald was forced to take large turns around. She was gaining fast—very fast. Her blood-covered face was brimming with fury. Emerald felt her stomach drop.
"Shit!"
She needed to escape now. Emerald cranked on the wheel, and the sports car swerved suddenly left, barreling through an intersection, and nearly colliding with two other cars. Yang stayed hot on her trail, barely slowing down as she took the turn with ease. Emerald tried again to throw her off, rapidly shifting across lanes, taking even tighter turns, leaving tire burns in the snow as she screeched and roared through the City of Vale. Yang would not relent, keeping only a few seconds behind her at every turn. No matter Emerald's best efforts, the Huntress would not leave her alone, and she had more near misses in a span of a minute than she had her entire life. After nearly colliding headfirst with a bus, Emerald skidded into a center lane and realized she needed a new strategy.
A gun… there had to be a gun in the glove box, right? There was no way Melanie would drive a weapon. Emerald hurriedly reached down and popped open the glovebox, and searched blindly while still trying to look ahead. She rummaged through papers, and plastics, desperately searching for something remotely gun-shaped.
"Come on, where's the goddamn—"
She felt something hard: a trigger. She pulled the weapon out of the glove box and pulled it into her lap—just in time for Yang to pull up next to her and break her window. The glass flew into Emerald's face, and the car swerved again as Emerald tried to steady herself. The roar of their engines was overpowering, but she could faintly hear Yang yelling at her from beneath the noise.
"Get out!"
Yang reached in through the window, and now she was reaching blindly for an opening, her eyes glued to the road in front of her as the two sped through Central Lane. Emerald swatted at her. She gnawed. Together, they almost swerved into an oncoming car, but they dodged it at the same time, moving in synchronicity. Through the panic, the snow, and the grabbing hands, Emerald was able to cock the handgun in her lap and point it out the side window. She pulled the trigger and heard an empty click. The gun wasn't loaded. Emerald growled, furious, and as Yang pulled on her hair, she threw the pistol out the window, smacking Yang in the face. The impact was just enough to get Yang off her back, and the bike fell behind her as they continued their chase.
To the average citizen of Vale, what had been a peaceful night was derailed by a chaotic criminal escapade. Anyone who had been in the car's path, or who had witnessed the destruction it caused, had seen a shock, though admittedly a peaceful one. Car chases happened in Vale. Not frequently, but they did happen. What didn't happen was a three-story tall toad jumping through the city streets, crushing parked cars like lily pads, and carrying three of the most famous Huntresses in the world on its back. As Weiss, Ruby, and now Blake continued chasing after their teammate, following the mighty roar of their engines, they were met with screams of terror, confusion, and the occasional delighted cheer. Weiss focused on the chase ahead of her. Ruby focused on trying not to puke. Blake focused on piecing together just what she had been missing.
"Okay, so Penny followed us from Vale, then you guys were tortured by a criminal organization—shit, watch it!" The toad landed on a slanted road, and the resulting bump nearly knocked Blake from its back. "Then, Penny fucking died, but I guess she didn't because she was still fighting when you left… and now, we're chasing the lady that caused your visions. Am I getting that right—Weiss, have you considered adding a fucking saddle to this thing?"
"Not interested in your complaints, Blake," Weis grunted, trying to keep the toad from smashing any citizen by accident.
"You know, it's been like twenty minutes! I was having a nice dinner twenty minutes ago! How do we let this happen to us?"
"Blake, I love your insightful commentary, but can you shut up and let me concentrate?" Weis barked. "Ruby, you know Vale. Where are they headed?"
Ruby shuddered; fingers dug into the toad's skin for dear life. "Bastion Bridge… only way out of the city in this direction."
"Can we cut them off?"
"Y-Yes. Make a left up ahead… urgh…"
"Hang on!"
Blake screamed. "I literally can't hang on any—aahhhhh!"
"All available units, please respond. We have a 1035, repeat we have a 1035: a red sports car heading to Bastion Bridge, followed by a motorcycle and what seems to be three teenagers riding a very big amphibian. All available units, please respond."
Bastion Bridge: the oldest suspension bridge in Vale, leading from the City of Vale across the Shaded River into the broader countryside. Often known for its long traffic, it was quiet at this time of night, its drivers deterred by an increasing snowfall and the late hour. Its peace would be broken by the unfolding chaos.
Yang gritted her teeth as she passed onto the exit, still tailing Emerald close. As the lanes widened and the traffic's density lessened, Emerald began to speed up, pushing the sports car as fast as it could go. Yang revved her bike, trying to push its limits as well. It didn't take long before she realized that it wasn't capable of keeping up. She should have expected as much; despite its flashy exterior, it was some derelict vehicle she stole from the rundown part of town. The logic did nothing to soothe her temper. This night had exposed her weaknesses, and proudly displayed her failures for the world to see, one after another. Now, once again, when she needed to prove herself most, the world was failing her.
She furiously brushed her hair out of her eyes. She had to keep pushing. Even as the car in front of her drifted further away, she knew she couldn't give up. They had come this close. She just needed one final push. Yin's fury was still somewhere deep within her, and she channeled that as much as she could. She revved the engine.
Emerald checked her mirror again. She saw a few cars, horns blaring at her, and Yang, still hot on her trail. Despite her flooring the pedal, Yang was somehow gaining on her. Her heart was beating out of her chest. Even if she escaped Yang, the twins had abandoned her. She would need to find a new shelter out of the city. Everything had gone so wrong, all because she accepted that stupid deal from that stupid woman. Her mind flashed through every terrible decision she ever made in life, and through that distraction, Yang acted.
Yang sped close behind, and when she close, she charged her Aura through her legs and leaped from her bike, throwing herself onto the trunk of the sports car. The sudden weight caused the car to buckle, but Yang held on, gripping the vehicle for dear life. Through gritted teeth and a whirlwind of snow, she raised up her fist and smashed down as hard as she could. Her gauntlet cratered through the back window, smashing it to pieces. Emerald screamed in terror as Yang climbed inside the car, tumbling into the backseat.
Emerald swerved the car wildly, trying to keep Yang off balance. Yang rolled on the ground, her momentum carrying her, but she somehow managed to grip the seat in front of her and pull herself upright. She reached into the front seat, wrapping her arm around Emerald's throat.
"Pull the fuck over! Make this easy on yourself!" Yang warned. Emerald kept her hands on the wheel, nearly crashing the car as Yang pressed tighter. Her fingers dug tightly into the rubber. Her vision became blurry. She felt Yang's tendon stick against her skin. In a matter of seconds, she would go out completely. Yang didn't seem to care that crashing the car could kill both of them. She was determined to not let her escape, screw the consequences. Understanding how desperate the situation was, Emerald only had one option left. Yang's grip was strong, but at her current angle, there was enough room for Emerald to move her neck. It wasn't much, but it was enough to matter. Acting quickly before Yang could react, Emerald twisted her head and shoved her face close to Yang's.
Their eyes met for only a moment. It was enough for Emerald's Semblance to take hold.
Yang's eyes rolled back into her head. Her arm went slack. She collapsed into the floor of the backseat, her body seizing up. Emerald gasped for air, relieved of pressure, and took a moment to check her writhing opponent. A light smirk crossed her face. When she was out of the city, she could dump her body on the side of the road, and she would be home-free. Her biggest nuisance was finally behind her. She turned back to face the road in front of her.
Her real biggest nuisance—a giant toad with a childish name—was sitting right in front of her.
Emerald couldn't stop the car in time and crashed directly into Large George's belly. The front of the sports car crumpled in on itself, and Emerald jerked forward, smacking her face against the steering wheel. Blood trickled out of her busted nose. The impact knocked her loopy, and she groaned as her high-speed chase came to a sudden end.
Weiss and Blake jumped down from George's back, Ruby awkwardly slinking down after them. The appearance of the giant toad brought all incoming traffic to a standstill, and a pile-up slowly formed down the road, most drivers smart enough to keep their distance from the great beast. Blake opened up the front door of the sports car and pulled Emerald free, while Weiss checked the back for Yang. She was lying on the floor, groaning and stirring from her brief state of shock. The impact from the car crash was more than enough to rouse her, and though her time in her own memories was brief, it was enough to visibly shake her.
"What…. What happened? Did we get her?"
"Yep," said Weiss, offering her a helping hand. She escorted Yang out of the vehicle and looked her over once. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm… fine," Yang sighed. "Thanks for the assist."
"Don't worry about it," Blake said, dragging Emerald to her feet. "But you guys seriously owe me a fancy dinner, because that was—"
"Blake, don't look at her!"
Blake didn't hear Ruby's warning in time. She admittedly wasn't paying attention. It was really their fault. No one had bothered to explain how Emerald's power worked to her. She had been completely clueless about everything the whole night. She was holding up Emerald the way one might expect, holding her by the shoulders, letting her dangle there harmlessly. She didn't know that she should have turned Emerald's face away, or that Emerald wasn't nearly as out of it as she seemed. It took only a second for Emerald to lean her head up and catch Blake's gaze, and that was more than enough for her eyes to blossom and send Blake spiraling.
They both fell to the floor, Blake spasming uncontrollably as her darkest memories took hold of her. Emerald landed on her stomach, but she was still sharp. Weiss and Yang instinctively looked toward Blake, and Emerald caught them in her crosshairs. She flashed her terrible gaze at them, and they fell under her spell. Yang gasped and collapsed, diving back into the trauma she had just escaped. Weiss screamed in pain and stumbled back against the car, clutching her head. Emerald whipped her head around to ensnare the last member of Team RWBY, but Ruby closed her eyes tightly as if she was hiding from a monster under her bed. It was hardly a solution. She was now blind against a vicious assailant, and the woman she had stalked across Vale was not interested in holding back.
Emerald jumped to her feet and sprinted at Ruby, drilling her in the face with a solid right hook. Ruby stumbled back into the toad, refusing to open her eyes and succumb to more poison. It only gave Emerald the advantage, and the thief struck Ruby again clean in the jaw.
"Why couldn't you just leave me alone?" she screamed. There were other screams joining her, the passengers of the cars blocking up the highway gradually realizing the horrific battle that was unfolding before them. Car horns, screams, and snowy wind battered their ears, but Emerald's frustration rose above it all. "I gave you everything you asked for! I have nothing." She spat out blood and winded up another blow. "You assholes!"
She let loose another strike, and Ruby couldn't see the attack coming before it struck her in the side of the head. She was disoriented from her toad ride, mentally drained from the night's events, and physically sick from all the carnage. She was weak. The blows to the head were enough to knock her down to her knees. She didn't know what to do. The full range of Emerald's powers escaped her, and she was terrified that if she opened her eyes for even a moment, she would descend back into another horrible vision. Her teammates were defeated. She had no weapon. How was it, after everything they had been through, she still felt helpless?
Emerald, heaving and furious, started moving toward the cars that were piling up behind them. She kept her eyes wide and her head on a swivel, the terrible, hideous visage of her eyes exposed for all to see. She didn't care who she took out anymore: parent, child, Huntress, or bystander. She was through with this. If she had to incapacitate everyone in Vale, she would do it in a heartbeat. She was not a cruel person, never was, but she had always been a survivor. She would hijack one of the cars and escape. That was the only plan she had left. Fuck SPIDER, fuck Team RWBY, and fuck the rest. She was a walking acid trip, a nightmare made flesh for all those who looked at her wrongly. She was getting out.
However, as she neared the closest car, something wrapped around her leg. She looked down in surprise to see a golden chain tightly wound around her ankle. She followed the chain back to its owner, and there she saw Weiss Schnee—kneeling, clearly in pain, but with one hand covering her right eye, and another, scarred eye staring straight through her.
Weiss's mind was a confused haze. When Emerald's attack hit her, memories of her past tried to consume her. She saw, in a fog of distortions, her father hovering over her, standing with his sword at the ready, dripping with her blood. She felt the phantom pains of her eye, the wounds from her first attempt at the God's Arm. She heard her sister, calling her name, begging her to fight. These memories tried to overtake her senses, force their way into becoming reality, and yet, they crashed up against a wall. Her right eye, one of flesh, was polluted. But her left—the eye that had been cut out of her head during that same God's Arm attempt, the eye that had been replaced with a steel frame and camera lenses plugged directly into her optic nerve, the eye that was just off-shaded blue from the other—that eye saw the world clearly. It saw the car wreck, and the snow, her tortured teammates, and Emerald, the woman who hurt the woman she loved. It was that eye that refused to be taken over by her memories, that eye that burned through Emerald's skin.
And with one eye open, Weiss pulled on the chain, and Emerald went flying. The thief was thrown hard into one of the suspension cables, then brought back to the concrete with a sickening thud. The breath was knocked from Emerald's lungs, and she was knocked unconscious, her reign of terror just as brief as it was monstrous.
Weiss exhaled, trying to decipher the two realities that crashed into each other in her mind. She rose to her feet, her chest constricting, and she nearly fell. Luckily, Ruby was there to catch her, holding her tightly and soothing her.
"It's okay," she promised. "I've got you now."
Ruby smacked Weiss once on the back, not enough to hurt, but enough to dispel the terrible visions. The pressure came off Weiss's shoulders, and she nestled herself into Ruby's neck.
"This plan was stupid," Weiss mumbled.
"Yeah," Ruby nodded with a tearful smile. "It really was."
Cleaning up the battle was surprisingly easy. Weiss bound Emerald wit her chains, making sure to loop a few links over her eyes. Ruby woke Blake and Yang from their trances. Yang awoke with a start, ready to punch things until Ruby calmed her down. Blake awoke screaming, frantically scratching at Ruby's face.
"Whoa, whoa! Blake, you're okay!"
Blake took a long moment to respond. She was shaking badly. Ruby didn't press any further.
She helped her teammates up to their feet, and together, they stood in the middle of the highway, contemplating what to do with their captive. The pedestrians that had fled from the chaos were starting to return. A few, recognizing the Heroes of Vale, snapped pictures of them. Others cheered. Ruby did her best to ignore their looks. Explaining all of this to the press was something she was not looking forward to. However, something new came in to distract Ruby from that. Through the snowfall, a tiny green speck danced through the clouds, hurrying toward their position. Ruby became numb as the light grew closer, the ghost of their torture coming back to haunt them. Ruby and her teammates were silent as a woman, coated in black fluid, clothes tattered, descended from the sky and shaky, sparking rockets. She touched down in front of them, surveying the damage from their fight. The mission had been completed without her.
Ruby locked eyes with Penny, and only now could she truly see the damage to the metal endoskeleton that lay beneath her skin. It didn't seem real at first, but it all finally clicked in place. Penny's behavior. Her survival. Penny Polendina was so many things, but only now did Team RWBY see that human wasn't one of them.
And maybe Penny understood that, too. Penny opened her mouth to say something, her remaining features contorted in sorrow. Whatever she wanted to say was interrupted by the sound of police sirens in the distance. She supposed it was only a matter of time. She spoke genuinely.
"When you're finished talking to them… come find me in your hotel room. We have a lot to talk about."
Her rockets sparked again, and Penny blasted off into the night sky. Team RWBY watched as she faded into the clouds.