"Oh man, I'm beat." Nora groaned while staring at the ceiling lights.
The cold tile of the training room felt fantastic on her warm back. So good, in fact, that she transitioned to lying flat on her stomach like a starfish. Magnhild lay discarded next to her. She stroked the hammer's head before issuing an apology to the weapon.
A shadow fell over her. Looking up, she saw the kind face of her conqueror. A hand reached down with a water bottle.
"You seem like you could use this." Pyrrha said.
From anyone else, her words would have sounded like a taunt. She herself was fresh as a daisy. Nora knew otherwise. The Invincible Girl did not have a mean bone in her body. At least, she did not when interacting with people outside the ring.
Once a fight began, all bets were off.
"Just dump it on my back." Nora moaned as cool liquid ran down her shoulder blades. "Ah! That really hits the spot."
After several more minutes of lying about, Nora stood on wobbly legs. Pyrrha helped her slowly to the locker room. Other than a few upperclassmen, they were the only people present. The rest of the school was enjoying a weekend off from hard work.
Nora had opted out of that. Ordinarily, she was all for relaxing, but she had been given a golden opportunity. What had fallen in her lap would have made her younger, vagrant, fangirl-squealing past self extremely jealous.
A chance to spar with the Pyrrha Nikos.
Or more accurately, it was a chance to get systematically destroyed by Pyrrha Nikos. Nevertheless, it was a real learning opportunity for Nora. One that did not come around often, despite them being on the same team.
"So, what are your thoughts, champ? Anything I could improve upon?" She called over the bathing stall divider.
There was a barely perceivable hum above the running shower heads. "We should work on your mobility. Being rooted to the spot can work well enough for basic Grimm, but against a more agile opponent, it is a liability."
That was something Nora had noticed as well. In their spar, she had put up a good enough defense. Pyrrha had just run circles around her.
"Hmm… That will be a hard cookie to crack. No amount of conditioning will get me running like the wind." Nora simply replied while rinsing her hair.
The hammer wielder was by no means slow, but she would never win a sprinting contest. No matter how much she stretched, her legs were never going to get any longer. Losing bulk was not an option either. Her weapon required a certain amount of user stockiness.
"Your electricity Semblance gives you a bit of a speed boost, right? Could you lean on that more during a fight?"
"Not exactly." Nora shivered as she stepped out to begin toweling off. "High Voltage—that's what I called my Semblance on the Beacon admissions form—makes my muscles wicked strong! Legs included! But it doesn't make me sprint that much faster than normal."
Pyrrha turned her shower off as well. "Ah. I assumed it was an overall enhancer based on the way you ran through those Lancers during Initiation."
"Nope! Just strength!"
A single charge could carry her through a brick wall. That was not hyperbole, either. She had tested it plenty of times on condemned structures. Working on a construction crew was one of the few 'low risk, no education, and not illegal' ways of making money in Mistral.
Once in a dry set of clothes, the girls packed away their gear before trekking back to the dorms. Hitting the pathway between buildings, dimly lit lamp posts led them through the night. They encountered even fewer people along the way.
There was a comfortable silence between them as they walked. Pyrrha's face was scrunched in serious thought. Nora, not being a fan of either silence or serious thought, intended to free them from such concerns.
"Why the long face?"
The other girl's face morphed to show major surprise. Nora realized too late that she may have screamed the question instead of asking gently. Thankfully, Pyrrha intuited that the faux pas had not been purposeful.
"I'm still working on a solution to your speed problem."
"Aw, shucks!" Nora gushed at the thoughtfulness. "That's nice and all, but it's not your fault that I'm a slowpoke."
Pyrrha shook her head. "I noted the flaw. I must produce a solution."
"Says who?"
"W-well, no one, b-but it seems only right for me to-"
"Bah-bah-bah." Nora pulled the babbling gal into a side hug. "It was enough for you to point out the issue. I'll fix my own flaws, thank you very much. You don't need to worry your pretty little head about that!"
Nora already had some ideas that involved tinkering with her weapon. She was not sure if the modifications were feasible, though. Luckily, there was a certain little weapon's aficionado that could help her work out the issues.
Stress strained Pyrrha's body. "You're not mad?"
"Of course not!"
She sagged. "Thank you. I think I needed to hear that."
"No problem." Nora giggled before she became intensely earnest. "Y'know, you don't have to help out everyone who asks for it. If you are feeling pressured, you can always say 'no.'"
"Who do you think is pressuring me?" Pyrrha tilted her head.
"Well, you've been spending so much time with Jauney…"
The Jaune-Pyrrha duo, or 'Jaha,' as Nora had nicknamed them, trained together nearly every weeknight. Weiss was worried something 'untoward' was happening between them. Which, to be fair, did seem plausible. It was an excessive amount of exercise, even for huntsmen.
"No, no." She shook her head. "Working with Jaune is fine. Great, even."
"Great, huh?" Nora waggled her eyebrows. "So you like getting all sweaty with our fearless leader, huh?"
"The vigorous activity is delightful, but there is more to it than that." The taller girl wiggled out of the forced embrace to jog ahead.
Smirking, Nora trotted close behind. "Like what?"
There was no answer forthcoming as they moved into the main dormitory building. Eventually, Pyrrha relented and slowed down to speak. Nora vibrated in place. It had been a while since she had any juicy gossip.
"Jaune just-" Her neck was red, and not from exertion. "He has so much potential. There is something so rewarding about watching his growth."
Nora tried not to make a crude joke as they climbed stairs. "What parts of his 'growth' caught your eye?"
'Tried' was the operative word. Pyrrha did not seem to notice. She practically glowed.
"It's amazing. Not his sword technique, obviously. That is what I am trying to teach him. But his stamina! He could go on forever! We actually had to start setting alarms because it is so easy to lose track of time."
"You don't say." Despite being her joke, Nora was also going red.
"I do! And he is such a fast learner! We are currently working on hand positioning. Finger placement is very important."
"I, uh, wouldn't know." Her knowledge of swords was limited.
Sword swords. Not 'swords.' Though she did not know much about those either.
"Soon enough, I'll show him how to use his tongue."
"Tongue!? Hey now, what exactly are you teaching-" Nora stopped her incoming rant when she saw Pyrrha's slight grin. "Wait, were you just messing with me?"
"Maybe a little bit."
"How…?"
"I was an athlete. I've heard every vulgar innuendo you can imagine from fans, announcers, and other competitors." Pyrrha shuddered. "One of the many things I don't miss since switching careers. Some of those people were downright nasty."
Nora was unsure she could platonically love Pyrrha any more than she already did. But this may have proved her wrong! She was the sister she always wanted.
"Well, that was still a great turn around. My compliments to you, madam." Nora bowed as she opened the door to the hallway that held their dorm.
Pyrrha laughed behind her hand as she walked past. "I was not lying though. I do enjoy training with him. You as well. I would not have offered to you two otherwise."
"And Weissy? Would you train with her?"
"I'm… sure we could manage." Said the champion with an uncertain smile.
It was a polite response. If Weiss asked, Pyrrha would probably not say 'no' outright but would rather make excuses to put off the engagement. Or she would not spend as much time with her as she did with her other teammates.
Not that Nora could blame her. Even as her partner, she was getting sick of Weiss. The Ice Queen had yet to fully defrost, even with the school year well under way.
Before Nora could broach the topic, she caught sight of a more pressing matter. "Renny!"
Suddenly seeing her best friend standing in the common room, she ran to him. Instinctively, his arms opened up as she smashed into his side. In a well practiced maneuver, he allowed them to spin in place rather than be knocked over. While rotating, she laughed.
It suddenly hit her how much she had been missing him.
There was a loud wolf whistle directed their way. "Aren't y'all an adorable pair. Making me jealous."
Nora looked around Ren's body. They had an audience. On two couches around a large screen TV sat Yang, Ruby, and Weiss.
The blonde whistler was beaming from her place on the rightmost futon. Beside her, the brunette cutie was staring at them with shining silvery eyes. Seated alone on the left couch, the white-haired priss huffed at their togetherness.
"That's us! Adorable to the extreme!" Nora giggled before getting a whiff of Lilac.
Confused, she pressed her face close to her childhood friend's shirt. There were other flowery scents present. A practical bouquet.
Ren noticed her frown. "Problem?"
"Why do you smell like you tumbled through a spring meadow?"
"Oh, that's my fault." Yang traded spots with Pyrrha to walk over. "My girlfriends forced him to accompany us to a beauty salon. Our boy here got a decent nose. Thanks to him, I picked out the perfect new conditioner."
Nora was not surprised by the skill. They both had developed keen noses thanks to years of living out in nature. Discerning between different types of edible and inedible foods by scent was crucial. She was, however, surprised by the application of said skill.
"Traitor!" Nora headbutted his chest before mumbling. "You've never taken me to a salon!"
He winced. "You never asked."
"I am now! I want to go next time."
"The more the merrier!" Yang laughed it off. "Might even go again next weekend. We had planned on hitting up some more stores and maybe a nightclub. But then we had to cut that short on account of everything going on."
"Going on?" Nora followed a simple gesture to the television.
On the screen were pictures of downtown Vale behind a female reporter with purple hair. They were talking, but the sound was low. Nora was unsure of what was happening. As if reading her mind, Pyrrha turned the volume up so they could all hear.
"-reports of skirmishes between Atlesian and White Fang forces are yet to be substantiated. But we have received videos and images of mechanical forces consistent with those belonging to the Kingdom of Atlas."
VNN ran a short clip. Shaky hands recorded a black robot with a gun arm passing by a ground floor window. The picture froze as the automaton turned to the person recording the encounter. Its soulless, red slitted eyes bore into the viewer.
If not for the weapon, Nora would have thought it was a humanoid Grimm. She shuddered. Ren squeezed her shoulder, also affected by the visage.
"Lisa, has there been an official statement issued by the Council of Vale?" Asked a male voice over.
"No word from them yet, Cyril. But VPD is advising the public to stay in-doors-"
"Ugh, what a mess." Yang said before walking over to mute the TV again. "Ruined a perfectly good night."
"A missed night of debauchery is a small price to pay for neutering those beasts." Weiss preened, excited at the news of her homeland acting against the terrorists.
The blonde whirled on her. "Debauchery? What kind of gal do you think I am?"
"We all know exactly what kind of lady you are." The Schnee glared meaningfully at the other girl's clothing.
Admittedly, Yang was wearing a rather revealing orange tank-top and black leggings. It looked more like sleep wear, so Nora doubted she had been out in public. Still, this observation appeared to hit a sensitive spot.
Showing crimson, Yang stomped over to Weiss. Ren sighed before stepping away to play peacemaker. Nora instead walked to the other couch. Pyrrha was typing away at her Scroll.
"Whatcha doing?"
"Checking up on Jaune. He said he'd be out on the town tonight, doing whatever." She said bitterly. "Need to make sure he is okay."
Ruby picked up her own device. "I should text Blake, too. I'm not sure where she went."
"Aw, it's sweet that you're both worried." Nora sat between them as they heard Yang and Weiss arguing. "But it's not like either of them would have anything to do with the White Fang, of all things. I'm sure they're both juuuuust fine."
XXI. The Night the Line Was Crossed
Blake ducked as a baton passed over her head. The Atlesian Knight then tried to ram her with its riot shield. She weaved around before slamming Gambol Shroud into its back. There was a crackle as the robot shorted out and died.
Tearing the cleaver out sent dark lubricant along the floor. With a flick, she cleared the disgusting liquid from the knife's edge. Surveying the area, she found no shortage of threats.
The warehouse had morphed into a warzone. Grunts, groans, and gunfire filled the confined space. Most of the action was concentrated around the stage. There, the armed White Fang members were holding off their mechanical foes.
Others were not faring as well.
The audience had been corralled by a ring of AKs. Blunt instruments drawn, the machines advanced slowly while issuing brutish commands to lie down and surrender. Some of them complied. Most paced back and forth in understandable fear.
Her intervention was swift. She jolted toward the closest link in the chain. A pair of robots, sensing her presence, turned to club her.
With a quick substitution, she left an afterimage. The clone was realistic enough to fool the inorganic beings. They both took a big swing and seemed to error out upon hitting nothing but air. Sliding in, Blake unsheathed her blade to cut their legs out from under them.
A third robot reached for her. She went on the offense by kicking away the arm and decapitating the head. At the same time, she threw her sheath to the left. It nailed another AK between the visual sensors of the face plate.
While it struggled to remove the obstruction, Blake shifted her sword into its machine pistol form. She downed two more robots with concentrated fire. Then she ran to the damaged AK and finished it off by sliding her sword back into the stuck sheath and pushing down. This cracked the central processor, shutting the whole system down.
The remaining robots, responding to the greater danger she posed, updated their protocols. They shifted over to the more lethal weaponry they possessed.
That was as far as they got.
A blur of crimson, grey, and black landed in their midst. Sparks flew as a war scythe cut them up. Blake, for a moment, thought her partner had arrived to save the day.
As bad as that reunion might have been, she would have preferred dealing with Ruby. The Beacon huntsman, Qrow, stepped over his downed prey and towards Blake. His faded red eyes considered her in a neutral manner.
"You seem capable. Had any formal training?"
She was screwed if he found out she was a student. "Enough to get by."
"Think you can lead them to safety?" He threw a thumb behind him.
The civilians were huddled together in a corner. With the front entrance covered, they were trying to draw as little attention as possible. Comprised mostly of non-combatants, they would not get far without guidance.
"What does-" She gulped, hoping against hope. "What does safety mean to you? That we turn ourselves over to the Atlas military?"
"That's the last place I would call safe."
There was silence as the gunfire stopped.
They both turned to the stage. The last of the defending White Fang had been neutralized. Now the AKs were circling back for the holdouts.
Qrow pushed Blake aside to stand before the advancing forces. "Get them out of here."
"Why are you helping us?"
Not acknowledging her question, he dashed forward. The sounds of fired bullets returned. Qrow strafed to draw their fire in the opposite direction.
Puzzled but determined, Blake ran to the civilians. Seeing her approach, they allowed her to move through them to the front. She planned to get the crowd's attention so they could brainstorm an escape route.
It turned out they were way ahead of her. A few of the unarmed White Fang members were gathered around a small hole in the wall. They were trying to increase the size to allow them to crawl out. With only their bare hands, the work was slow going.
"Sister!" One of them called after seeing her weapon. "Help us! Please!"
She nodded. "Stand back."
Charging, she drove her sword through the exposed drywall. The sharp blade sliced through the barrier before getting stuck. Tugging the handle did nothing to loosen the weapon from its new prison.
Not deterred, Blake backed away before rushing forward once more. Aura pushing her on, she drop kicked the pommel. Falling flat on her back was unpleasant, but her actions had cracked the wall. One more good hit would bring the section down.
Pulled to her feet by a few of the spectators, she gave her best guidance on what came next. "We have no idea what is on the other side, but it's likely more Atlesian Knights. I'll hold them back. Your job is to file out single-file and run."
No one argued, but a masked woman wanted clarification. "Run where? What should we do once we are outside?"
"You must have scouted in advance. What's the fastest way to leave this section of the city?"
Standard practice was to have an escape route in case a mission went wrong. The Fang used to believe it was better to live to fight another day rather than perish pointlessly. Yet Blake was unsure.
Maybe they did not value the safety of its members anymore.
One of them proved there was still some sanity left in the organization. "I know one. But we aren't supposed to share our routes with non-members."
There were sounds of protest from the listening civilians. Even offers of joining on the spot. Blake shut that down.
"We are making an exception. If anyone at headquarters complains…" She decided to take a risk. "Tell them Lieutenant Belladonna authorized this course of action."
They all immediately saluted. "Yes ma'am!"
Blake knew she was going to regret that decision by the next morning. News of her acrimonious split from the White Fang had not spread far, but her temporary return was certain to cause a stir. She could not bring herself to care at that moment.
There was no guarantee of a tomorrow for any of them.
Once more, she lined up with the wall. Breathing in and out while envisioning her actions, she delivered another running kick. The barrier buckled.
Through the breach, Blake tumbled. Rolling all the way, she picked up Gambol Shroud. As predicted, numerous AKs were waiting for them. She desperately rushed at the first line.
Transforming her weapon into a throwing scythe, she swung it around her head using the connecting ribbon. With a toss, the blade's curve caught around the torso of a robot. Pulling them together, she kneed its head off.
The other AKs opened fire with their gats. Blake created a clone in her place and used the force of its displacement to push upwards. As the shadow was cut to pieces, she created another pair of clones to throw her at the shooting mechs.
As she flew through the air, Blake chanced a brief glance at the wall. A steady stream of people was pouring through the hole without interruption. The plan was working.
Landing on top of an AK, she flipped the scythe back to sword mode. Stabbing downward, she cut right through what would have been the spine of an organic opponent. However, the machine kept firing.
That gave her an idea.
With a lean to the side, and using her weapon's handle to steer, she retrained the guns. The surrounding AKs hesitated. They were programmed not to shoot their own. That left them susceptible to forced friendly fire.
There were sharp screeches as the bullets mowed them down. The sound of metal sliding against metal caused her feline ears to twitch in pain. Yet she dared not let up until every robot had been transformed into a scrap heap.
After shooting them all up, Blake hopped off her piloted AK. The puppet collapsed in on itself. She, similarly, was tired.
Touching her shoulder to soothe an ache, she winced. Her fingers came back bloody. Most likely, it was a scratch from running through the wall. But she could not rule out a bullet graze. The adrenaline circulating in her body could be masking the pain.
Looking back at said wall, she caught sight of the last of the civilians leaving the hole. Among them was a woman carrying a much younger girl. The child must have been around four or five.
Blake was briefly reminded of her own upbringing. Her parents had dragged her to all sorts of White Fang events. None of the rallies had ended this violently, though.
This night reminded her of the stories the old folks back on Menagerie told of the Faunus Rights Revolution. Seeing the state violence firsthand, Blake questioned her choice of leaving the movement. It would be so easy to slip back into the role of a freedom fighter.
But was that what she really wanted?
There was a scream.
A spider droid landed in front of the presumed mother-daughter pair. It had crawled around the building to respond to the destruction of the ground troops. Startled, the woman dropped to protect the girl. The droid's thick front legs lifted to pounce.
"No!"
On instinct, Blake flooded her sword arm with Aura. Channeling the power into her weapon, she slashed the air. A purple crescent of spiritual energy flew towards the attacking automaton.
Right before the heavy limbs could be brought down, her slash landed. The Aura attack was not as devastating as it could have been. She was no expert. Yet it was sufficient enough to nearly bisect the droid's chassis. The arachnid jittered before tipping over.
Breathing hard, she fell to one knee. Generating an Aura slash always took a lot out of her. She did not possess a Semblance that could charge the attack without taxing her reserves.
Internally, she felt strained and stretched thin. Experience told her that this was a temporary sensation. Soon her disturbed soul would settle into a new equilibrium.
But it would not be soon enough.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw three more AKs. They had also spotted her. Already, their turret arms spun in preparation to shoot.
There was no way she could get out of the way in time. Shadow flickered but would not activate. She braced by tucking her head, hoping that her Aura would respond to the danger in time to take the hits.
A heat washed over her. Pure and warm. The feeling was unexpected. There was usually pain that accompanied tanking a gunshot. This time, there was none.
Uncurling herself, she witnessed the aftermath of an explosion. Small fires and twisted metal littered the ground. Some kind of ordinance had scattered the robots. There was no time to get excited though. Another grouping of mechanical men approached.
A fiery streak fell from above to land at their feet. Again, they were taken out by an explosion. This time, Blake could figure out where the shell had come from.
Back tracing the arc led her to the top of the warehouse. Astride the lip of the roof was a man in a white coat. He held his cane up like a gun. His red bangs swept back over the brim of his bowler hat.
The black mask over the bottom half of his face made reading his expression difficult. Yet she could tell he was smirking. Roman Torchwick tipped his hat before turning and running.
There was a good reason to flee. Deciding he was the bigger threat, the robots began shambling towards his position. Given the distraction, Blake also took off. There would be time later to think about why random humans kept saving her sorry self.
She was not the only one taking advantage. The rest of the faunus had dispersed, hopefully using whatever emergency exit the White Fang had pre-planned. No longer having to worry about anyone else, she slipped into the backstreets.
Surrounded by ceaseless night, she tried to blend in with her environment. Every now and then, she heard the distant sounds of the AKs moving and speaking. Ignoring them, her feet carried her further along the brick corridors.
Dread filled her as she realized she was lost. The sky was empty. Tonight was a new moon, and light pollution had extinguished the stars.
With celestial navigation out, she would have to guess. Based on how the night had been going, she was not confident in her luck. But there did not seem to be much of a choice in the matter.
"You there! Over here!" Someone hailed her.
Head swiveling, she saw a man waiting for her in the alley. It was not Torchwick this time. Instead it was a tough looking customer she would have steered clear of in most situations. However, with a literal army after her, she had to keep an open mind.
Blake was, however, still on guard as she approached him. Her grip on Gambol Shroud lessened when she saw his slitted irises. A plain clothed faunus was less likely to work for Atlas.
"Yes?" She asked.
"Are you any good with that?" He pointed at her sword.
"Yes."
"Good. My car is stashed that way." His finger flicked up the alley. "Help me get to it and I'll give you a lift out of here."
She chewed her lips. Escaping alone and on foot gave her more options for maneuverability. Her training and Semblance made disappearing very easy.
However, Atlas would be looking for pedestrians. Whatever tactical advantage there was in going solo was negated by her lack of knowledge of Vale. Teaming up with a local was the better plan.
Probably.
"Lead the way." So he did.
Neither of them offered their names. Both knew that they were better off knowing as little about each other as possible. Blake saw no reason to challenge that assumption.
They stalked their way through a maze of corridors. The bulky man knew his way around. This knowledge came in handy. They nearly ran smack dab into a patrol of flesh and blood troops who had blocked off the main street.
It was a surreal experience. Blake had never seen so many soldiers outside of Solitas or a SDC trading route. Atlas had taken over a portion of another kingdom's city, and no one seemed to care. There was not even a token VPD officer with them.
But what really made her blood boil was watching them pick off the stragglers.
"Let go!" A masked man yelled as he was tackled. "This is a mistake!"
Two soldiers straddled him. A knee was held on his neck as shackles were placed on his arms and legs. They could not quite get him subdued, however. His non-compliance stressed their patience.
"Quiet, mutt!" A third jackboot said before kicking their captive in the face.
The faunus cried out before going silent. His round glasses slid across the concrete. Flecks of concave glass landed near Blake's hiding spot. She saw red before drawing her cleaver. A hand landed on her shoulder.
"You said you'd help me escape." Her companion hissed.
She hissed back. "What about our brothers and sisters?"
"There is nothing we can do for them now other than also get arrested. I have too much to lose. What about you?"
Images of her team flashed in Blake's mind. So did her future career as a huntress. She closed her eyes before nodding.
Despite her earlier thoughts, there was no going back.
He receded into the alley. She watched as the soldiers placed a black bag over the bleeding faunus' head before loading him into an unmarked van. With prickling tears, she followed her fellow fugitive.
As they created more distance, Blake's mind would not quiet down. Something was nagging her as wrong with these circumstances. And it was not just her conscience.
"Were you at the rally?" She asked as they tip-toed around stacks of cardboard tied up for the recycler.
"I was." He replied succinctly. "That's why I'm running."
There was another tingle on her neck. "Where were you standing?"
"Is this really-"
"Where!?" She growled.
He sighed. "Near the back."
She did not remember him. His overall appearance made him hard to miss. Then again, the fighting might have fried her short-term memory.
"I didn't see you."
"Was keeping a low profile. I'm on probation."
That explained his comment on having a lot to lose. "Why'd you come, then?"
"The Brothers know." He huffed. "Guess I was trying to make some contacts. There aren't a lot of opportunities for faunus felons. Figured the Fang might have some low-risk grunt work for people with my skill set."
"You were looking for a job?"
"Yeah. After the night I've had, I think I'll look elsewhere. Fat lot of good that money would do me in a corrective labor colony, huh?"
Oddly, this information calmed Blake. He was as unseemly as she suspected. But it was in an authentic way.
His reasoning also reeked of ignorance. The White Fang did not hire anyone. To serve was a calling. The most that would be provided was food, shelter, and training. And not even the first two were guaranteed every day.
Perhaps his mind could be changed. The White Fang had their fair share of converts. But this lack of knowledge made it clear he was not working for Atlas.
An undercover spy would have produced a better cover story. One that tugged at Blake's heart strings or made him look less selfish. His shiftiness actually made him more trustworthy in this limited circumstance.
Or was that what he wanted her to think?
"We're almost there." His words cut through the self-doubt. "Just around the next block and we are home free."
Saying such a thing was considered bad luck. It was a form of tempting fate. Blake was not a believer of such superstitions. However, she would soon come to reevaluate that stance.
As soon as the words were uttered, there was a crackling noise behind them. She whirled around to the source. There, she saw a figure in the darkness. Her natural night vision allowed her to see a thin silhouette.
"Who's there?" She projected while still trying to preserve the silence.
They did not call back. Blake's legs tensed for combat.
This turned out to be unnecessary. As they came closer, Blake could finally discern the other person in greater detail. What approached was a girl with a squirrel tail.
Immediately, the huntress-in-training placed the face. Unlike the male, Blake did recognize her from the rally. They had passed a few times in the crowd. Other than the animal appendage, the glasses she wore were distinguishing.
"What'd you want?" Was his gruff question.
The third faunus pointed to herself and then at them. She was clearly incapable of speech, yet the intent was clear. There was a snort before he shook his head.
"Can't take you with us."
Blake rounded on him. "Why not?"
"My car isn't anything fancy. The extra weight will slow us down."
The squirrel girl pouted, likely at the implication of being heavy. Blake was not amused. She glowered at the self-admitted criminal.
"We are not leaving her."
They had already had to leave someone behind to the tender mercies of Atlas. There was no way she was leaving another. Especially one that was asking for help directly. Blake would rather take her chances on foot than surrender anymore of her morals.
Recognizing a lost cause, he surrendered. "Your funeral."
"Our funeral. Now, let's move."
After a shrug, he turned around to continue leading the way. Blake trailed him. She looked back to see that their latest addition was following closely.
She seemed uncertain. Wary. Not scared, thankfully.
"Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you."
There was a mere tilt of the head from the girl. Blake had to look away, shivering. There was an unsettling blankness to her stare. The stress of being pursued by a literal army must have been causing her to disassociate.
At least, that was what Blake was telling herself. She banished from her thoughts the only other eye she had seen such emptiness within. Going with them was the angry visage of the bull-horned man it had belonged to.
After a few more twists and turns, they arrived at their destination; A beat-up sedan.
The car was sitting alone in a small parking lot. She would give the owner credit. It did not stand out in any way. No one would confuse it with a getaway vehicle.
There was nothing special about it. Her only wonder was how a man as large as him did not get cramped in such a small machine. Blake now understood why he was worried about how it would handle extra weight.
"Hop in the back." He said. "You can push aside anything you find. Unless you would rather sit up front?"
She did not. Sitting behind him gave her a slight tactical advantage. It was a sad state of affairs, but even now, she did not trust him.
"Back is fine." She approached the rear door.
Through the window, she saw a large lump under a pile of blankets. It took up most of the rear seats. Her eyes narrowed before turning back to the man fumbling with his key fob.
"What's in there? Looks heavy."
"Just some bean bag chairs. Don't ask why I have them. It's embarrassing. Just push them aside, and there should be plenty of room."
A retort was on her lips when the squirrel faunus grabbed her hand. Blake finally saw some emotion in her face. It was hard to place. The shock of the night might have finally been catching up with her body.
Mouthing a few soothing words, Blake opened the back door. She was confused to see movement under the blankets. Furniture should not be wiggling.
Everything happened so fast. A hand holding a rectangular device shot out at her torso. Her instincts told her to jump back. The girl was right behind her, though, accidentally blocking off that method of escape.
Was it an accident?
The realization that this may have all been a trap from the beginning came too late. Everything had been too convenient. But Blake had not listened to her instincts.
And so the device was jammed between her ribs. Clicking noises followed. It was the telltale sounds of a stun gun activating.
Her muscles seized up as her mind caught up with reality. An electrical current had been sent through her body. There was nothing Blake could do as she tipped forward in a paralyzed state.
The ambusher, a red-faced man with green hair, pulled her fully into the car before he got out. Panic passed over Blake as someone clambered behind her. She was worried about their intentions.
Instead, a light weight landed on the small of her back. The girl, using Blake as a booster seat, buckled herself in using a lap seat belt. Quick confirmation that she was in on it.
The other two abductors were now in the driver and passenger seats. "Can't believe that worked. I really thought tonight was a bust."
"We're not home free yet. Got to slink around some roadblocks first. Then we can debrief her."
Blake had no interest in finding out what their idea of a debriefing was. Thanks to her Aura, the effects of the stun gun were already beginning to fade. If she were to bide her time, she could escape.
Sensing her intent, the girl on top of Blake shifted. The eyes of the cat faunus widened as something sharp was pressed to the inside of her thigh. Right against a major artery.
Without a word, the threat was made implicitly clear. One false move and Blake would bleed out in seconds. It was ruthless but effective.
She now knew two things. First, she had not been taken by a group of amateurs. Second, she was not getting away any time soon.