Prologue

Soft rays of light from the midday sun broke into the warehouse through windows, gaps in the walls, and recently made bullet holes. The many rays shone on a concrete floor with puddles of red accompanied by still bodies. Among the bodies, blood, and sunlight was Ruby Rose, seated neetly nearby one of the many corpses. She let out a huff of breath and looked around. Then to the former lieutenant laying in front of her.

"Why can't we ever just talk? It would of been so much easier, and you would still be alive. But noooo, every time I try to talk to you guys, you just have to attack me." She looked at the lieutenant's face as though expecting him to contradict her.

She stood up and was about to stow Crescent Rose when the faintest sound of a breath being drawn touched her ear. Her eyes searched for the source, they came to rest on one of the many White Fang foot soldiers on the floor. His chest was moving a fraction of an inch and his pale hands clutched to a gaping hole in his abdomen. He wore the standard white boots, black pants, white vest with a black hood, and mask of the White Fang.

Ruby stalked toward the dying faunus over the blood slicked floor, stepping over a few of his fallen comrades. By the time she had reached him, he had managed to raise himself off the ground a few inches. Ruby put one of her worn black boots on his chest and pushed him back into the pool of blood that had collected beneath him. Now that she was closer she could see he was about her age, short with an average build and a full head of short blonde hair. She couldn't see his face on account of the mask but his bright green eyes were visible through the eye slits. At first they were frantic, looking for escape, when the realization that there would be none occurred they met Ruby's eyes and searched for sympathy.

Ruby's face was unreadable. Her eyes were a frigid tundra that the faunus lost himself in. She hefted Crescent Rose and changed it into a rifle, then pointed the muzzle at the faunus's face.

If he hadn't lost so much blood he may have struggled or said something, but in his current state he remained silent.

"Can you tell me where Adam Taurus is?" the words floated out of Ruby's mouth, the gentle sound calmed him.

The faunus blinked free from the wasteland of Ruby's eyes. Regret flashed behind the slits of his mask. He took in a frail breath and said, "I'm sorry, I-I don't kn-" He was cut off by Crescent Rose.

Ruby sighed and closed her eyes in frustration. This was the third stronghold she had found and none of the White Fang would tell her where to find Adam. She opened her eyes and began walking out of the warehouse, taking in the carnage she had made. In the years since leaving Haven she had come to accept killing as a part of her life, however it was her least favorite part. She hated to do it. The only thing she hated more were the people who loved it. The lieutenant of this base had been one such person. As she crossed through the wide open doorway of the warehouse her eyes lingered on a heap of humans who had been executed some time before she had arrived. From the chairs arranged to face the execution site and the scattered wrappers for food made her think that it was a common event.

Ruby turned back to the warehouse, pulled Crescent Rose out, sighted a container full of fire dust, and shot. The box erupted in flames and the containers next to it caught fire and exploded. She watched for a few seconds, admiring the way the flames spread. After it was most definitely going to burn to the ground with no traces of the lieutenant or his soldiers, Ruby turned and made her way out of the base.

The first thing one would notice when walking into Weiss Schnee's office was the expansive curved glass window that served as the back wall to the room, offering a superb view of the city. The skyline was a mixture of stationary, more conventional buildings on the ground with an array of irregularly shaped buildings and vessels plodding around in the sky. Smaller more nimble ships went to and fro, thousands of people milled about on the ground paying no attention to the marvels of engineering and architecture surrounding them. Situated in front of the window was a minimalistic desk with polished metal tubes making up the frame, they supported a spotless glass pane that served as the desktop. The only item occupying the desk was a simple name plate that read, "Weiss Schnee." The next thing that would strike a person was that there wasn't anything else in the room. Nothing adorned the walls, there were no chairs to go along with the desk, and Weiss wasn't there either.

Weiss had been working at the SDC headquarters for five years and hadn't found much use for the space, nice as it was. The only time she could be found in the room was when she would drink her morning coffee and gaze out the window at Atlas and the world beyond. Most of her time was either spent in a meeting room on one of the lower floors or traveling around Remnant meeting with clients of the company.

At this moment she was in one of the meeting rooms at the SDC, seated at the head of a long silver table. Also sitting at the table were a few men and woman whom she had been discussing a contract with. She had given her pitch and was patiently waiting for them to finish squabbling among themselves and reach a decision. These things tended to take time and Weiss had grown bored. It wasn't a new feeling. She had become bored with this job since the first week she had been forced into it.

After she had been taken away from Beacon her father had mostly ignored her, only bringing her around for public appearances, until she had summoned a boarbatusk that nearly gored a party guest. Since then she had been mostly confined to her room and made an attempt to escape, only for her plan to be ruined by a pilot more concerned with the potential reward he would get for not sneaking Jacques Schnees daughter away.

As a sort of punishment she had been given a security team to keep an eye out for any more plots to escape. After her third near escape from the mansion, her father fired the leader of the group and replaced her with a woman called miss Tipota. Her hair was short and the color of charcoal, she was a little more than six feet tall. Her posture was rigid, suggesting some kind of military background along with the rather large pistol she wore on her left thigh. Her usual clothing was a magenta coat, black blouse, gray slacks, and a simple pair of brown boots. Miss Tipota had proven herself to be more observant to Weiss's efforts than the previous leader when she exposed Weiss's uncharacteristically simple plan to mail herself to Vale, it had been a test to see if the woman was more competent than the previous guard as well as Weiss growing tired of putting effort into elaborate schemes to escape. After that her father had made it clear that any further efforts to runaway would be catastrophic for Weiss. He had then told her that she would begin working for the SDC as what amounted to a saleswoman to distract her from her previous habit.

To say that it had worked would be correct, but not completely. Weiss barely thought about running away anymore, she knew there was no chance for it to go unnoticed. What she instead thought about was her rescue. At least she had for the first few years. She knew that Yang had her arm cut off and was no longer a huntress; she wouldn't be coming. Blake had ran from Beacon, abandoning team RWBY, Weiss assumed that she wouldn't bother. Which only left Ruby. Weiss desperately wanted to see her again, not only was Ruby the best friend she had had in her life, but after their separation Weiss had noticed how dull the world seemed. A hole had formed in her chest and the realization that she harbored deeper feelings for her former teammate had been a monumental revelation in her life. After Weiss had come to terms with not being able to escape she had firmly cemented the idea in her head that Ruby would save her. After two years it had waned but was still present. A couple more years passed and she began to lose hope. Five years and Ruby still hadn't come, the once brilliant star of hope in her heart had shrunken to a soft glimmer. Eventually it was replaced by a void of betrayal with Ruby in its center.

The Menagerie sky was an inky blue decorated by elegant white stars. Accompanying them was the shattered moon, quietly observing the world. Beneath this sky was Blake Belladonna, prone on a sand dune overlooking a White Fang compound. She had been laying there for nearly three hours, patiently waiting for the lieutenant to turn up.

The sound of footsteps made her turn around, grabbing the hilt of Gambol Shroud as she did.

She saw Sun walking up the dune toward her and took her hand off her weapon then said, "I hope you aren't that loud when you sneak up on people."

"Just when I sneak up on you, to see if you're paying attention. Speaking of which; have you seen the target yet?"

"No, but they should be here any minute."

Sun settled down next to Blake, going prone as well. They had spent the last few weeks in the inhospitable part of Menagerie searching for the remaining White Fang encampments. After running away from Beacon and her friends Blake had gone to Menagerie to repair her relationship with her parents. Amidst this a couple representatives of the White Fang had come to talk with Blake's parents. She and Sun had then explained what the White Fang were doing outside of Menagerie, talking at length about their roll in Beacons downfall. This surprised and angered her parents causing them to turn the White Fang away and setting off a series of events where the White Fang tried to maintain their position of esteem and influence in Menagerie.

The most noteworthy being a failed assassination attempt on both of Blake's parents, who were only saved by Illia Amitola having a change of heart at the last minute. From this point Sun, Illia, Blake and her parents began to focus on driving the White Fang from Menagerie. After years of fighting and campaigning to inform the faunus of what was really going on in the rest of the world they were on the verge of winning. The only remaining members of the White Fang were those that had been imprisoned and the ones at the hidden camps.

After a few more minutes passed, a small caravan could be seen approaching the compound. The trucks were loaded with weapons and dust that was kept stored at the remote bases in case any of the other branches of the White Fang needed them.

When the trucks had parked near the warehouse Blake and Sun looked for the lieutenant. She exited one of the trucks and spoke with a few of the faunus around, who then began to give instructions and then the trucks were being unloaded. She was short and had sandy brown hair with matching cat ears, she wore dark gray pants, black boots, and the usual white lieutenant coat.

"You know the plan right?" Blake asked as she got up and stretched.

"Sneak up to the warehouse, plant the bomb, wait for your signal, blow it up, find you, leave." Sun replied in a bored tone, standing up as well. "It'll be easy, just like the first two."

"Be careful." Blake took her eyes off the White Fang to look at Sun.

He smiled and said, "Relax, I'm the definition of careful."

Blake closed her eyes and let out a breath to steady herself, she opened her eyes and said, "Okay, let's go." They parted ways, Sun going to the right side of the base, while Blake went to the left.

Grains of sand shifted beneath Blake's boots as she crept over the desert toward the base. She made no sound, becoming entwined with the shadows of the landscape. Once Blake had reached the fence surrounding the perimeter of the base she jumped over it, landing behind a few crates. She peered around the corner to make sure there weren't any guards around then moved in the direction of the lieutenants building. She traversed the base easily, employing her masterful understanding of stealth. A hint of a smile played at her lips as she thought of the irony, the skills she had learned from her time in the White Fang were being used to remove their leaders and free Menagerie.

Blake had reached the base of the building and began to ascend, using the balconies and whatever protruded from the structure to make her way up. After she had reached the top she went to the side facing the warehouses and took a small light out of her pocket. She cupped a hand around it and flicked it on for a second. She saw an identical light in a secluded spot away from the warehouse. After a moment the peaceful night was disrupted by a roaring fireball that invaded the sky and washed everything in orange light. The bomb Sun had planted caused all of the surrounding dust crates to explode, and set off a chain reaction making the other crates explode too.

An alarm blared and Blake stepped onto the ledge of the building, waiting for sandy brown ears and a white coat. When Blake saw the lieutenant and her two guards exit the building she leapt off her perch. Blake landed on the lieutenant and plunged her blade into the woman's back, aiming for her heart, the woman went still and only a slight sound of surprise escaped her lips. Blake pulled her weapon out of her victim and stood up to look at the guards. They readied themselves to attack but Sun appeared from behind one and struck him unconscious with his staff. The remaining guard shifted his aim to Sun and was about to fire, but Blake kicked it out of his hands and knocked him out with a second kick. With their work done Blake and Sun fled into the night.

Jovial laughter washed over Yang as she sat in her usual spot at the counter of her favorite bar. All around her were people, drinking and talking with each other, while she sat alone. Her eyes looked over the crowd. She saw regulars there as well as a few people who only turned up every so often. She took a sip from her drink and relaxed. The amount of people and friendly atmosphere of the bar was the reason she liked it so much. She could drink at home whenever she wanted, but it would just be her there. This way she wasn't entirely by herself.

The only problem with coming here was that when she saw people with their friends she would be reminded of team RWBY and their time at Beacon. She took a drink and decided to go down the mental rabbit hole for the thousandth time. The happier memories came first, when Yang and Blake had found each other in the forest, going to classes and being goofy with Ruby, getting scolded by Weiss for goofing around with Ruby, the food fight with JNPR. Then the more unpleasant parts, Blake running away when she admitted to being in the White Fang, attacking Mercury after their fight, the night Beacon fell, and Adam cutting off her arm.

With that done, she would always wonder what they were doing now, what happened since their lives were derailed. Yang took another drink and thought about Weiss. She knew that the heiress had been taken away by her father after the fall, but that was the only thing Yang knew. Yang guessed that she had probably gone to Atlas Academy, graduated top of her class, and been made leader of a team. She was probably going around Remnant hunting grimm right now.

Yang looked down at her prosthetic arm and thought about being a huntress. She missed it: the feeling of doing something good, going on wild adventures with her friends. But that had all ended with the loss of her arm. Her prosthetic was alright, she could use it to perform basic tasks, but nothing as strenuous as punching an Ursa. Despite her longing to be a huntress she didn't regret protecting Blake from Adam, and would have told Blake that, had she not ran away. To her credit, Blake had paid Yang a visit once, sort of. A couple of years ago Yang had been walking in her house when she passed a window and saw something in her periphery. She stopped walking and looked out to see Blake standing in the shadow of a tree. Their eyes met, Yang ran to the door and pulled it open. She looked to where Blake had been, but didn't see her there, Yang had called her name a few times but returned to her house since Blake never came out.

Yang took another drink.

Then there was Ruby, a fully fledged huntress, off on her own slaying grimm throughout Remnant. After she and JNR had gone to Haven they decided to stay there and finish training as huntsmen and huntresses. Ruby had called or messaged Yang and Tai when she could, but due to the limitations of the CCT network, that didn't happen often. Close to three years later news that Haven had been attacked in a similar manner as Beacon became the focus of the world. Yang had frantically tried to get in contact with Ruby but she never answered her scroll. After weeks of fearing the worst Yang was jolted out of sleep by pounding on her door. She climbed out of bed and rushed to the door. When Yang opened it she saw Ruby standing there. Before Yang could say anything Ruby wrapped her arms around Yang in a long awaited hug. Yang returned the embrace and they held each other for minutes.

The reunion came to an end when Ruby choked out, "Yang, you're, squishing me."

"Sorry." Yang squeezed Ruby harder before letting her go. Yang rested her hands on her sisters shoulders and said, "What happened, when I heard Haven was attacked I tried to call a million times but you never answered?"

Ruby looked down and said, "I lost my scroll in the fight. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, Mistrals CCT towers were destroyed while Haven was being attacked." Yang opened her mouth to ask more questions but Ruby spoke before she could, looking at Yang this time, "I know you have a lot of questions, but I walked most of the way here and I've been looking forward to sleeping on a bed instead of dirt. Can we do this in the morning?"

Yang took another drink.

The next morning after a shower and with a stack of fresh pancakes to eat, Ruby had recounted the attack to Yang. White Fang had come in the night and set the school on fire with incendiary bombs. The students and teachers had fought as best they could, but they were caught off guard and outnumbered. Among the dead were Ren, Nora, and Jaune. Yang was saddened by the news, and did her best to comfort her sister, seeing as she had grown close to them through their time as a team. Ruby went on to explain how, a few days after the attack, headmaster Lionheart said that anyone who was in their last year would be made an official huntsman or huntress.

Since then Yang didn't get to see Ruby very often. The rare times that Ruby would show up Yang would always try to talk with her about what she was up to and could never get more than a simple answer out of her, she was hunting, helping Qrow with something, or just taking a break. It wasn't like Yang didn't believe her, she just felt like Ruby and herself had drifted apart over time, Yang missed how they used to be. One night while she lay in her bed trying to go to sleep Yang had come to the realization that she and Ruby weren't close anymore because Yang wasn't a huntress. They had shared interests in the past, but being a huntress had been the most important thing to them when they were younger, with it gone from Yang's life she didn't have much else to do with Ruby.

Chapter 1

Ruby unzipped the flap that served as a door to her tent and peered outside. The sun was just beginning to rise so it wasn't agonizingly hot yet. She glanced around at the ocean of sand surrounding her and pulled her head back inside.

Ruby picked Crescent Rose up and put it on her back then she grabbed her backpack and went outside. She sat down against the tent and dug a ration out of her pack for breakfast. Her meal was disappointing and the barren desert scenery didn't offer much stimulation, she started to think about why she was even there; Qrow had sent her to Menagerie after his informants told him the White Fang were stockpiling weapons and dust like they had before attacking Beacon and Haven. Along with destroying the stockpiles she was supposed to find and kill Adam Taurus, leaving the White Fang leaderless. With him gone Salem would have no way to control them. It had seemed easy enough at first, but Ruby had become fed up with the stubbornness of the White Fang, and the nothingness of the desert was getting to her. She would walk for two or three days to a base and attempt to talk to the leader, or anyone who would give her a chance, they would refuse to answer and attack her. Although, she was making progress, she had been to three of the eight bases, and would reach the next one sometime tomorrow morning.

After breakfast Ruby took down her tent and stored it in her pack then began the trek to the next base.

As Ruby walked she did the only thing one could do when in complete solitude: she thought about anything and everything. Being alone in a desert would make anyone bored and contemplative. She thought of Yang, it had been close to a year since Ruby had last gone to Patch and seen her sister. She missed Yang but there were more important things to do than visit her. Salem threatening to takeover Remnant took priority over catching up with her family. Yang's drinking was also on Ruby's mind, she didn't like it but had never attempted to discuss it with Yang. Whenever Ruby went home she was always faced with the intimidating idea of talking to Yang about it, which would inevitably lead to finding out what the cause for her drinking was. Over time Ruby considered the possibilities and she had come to the conclusion that there were multiple reasons; the loss of her arm, the inability to be a huntress as a result of losing her arm, Blake abandoning her, Weiss being taken away, and lastly Ruby felt like she had abandoned Yang too. Sure, she had kept in contact as best she could, but Ruby had been away for three years at Haven and then she had barely seen Yang after graduating. Ruby couldn't help but feel like she had played a role in Yang turning to drinking as a coping mechanism for all the things that were no longer a part of her life.

Ruby imagined a world where Yang's arm had never been cut off and they were wandering the desert together. She smiled at that. Since this was just a daydream, Ruby decided that Blake and Weiss would have been there too. She missed them as much as Yang.

"I wonder where they are now?" Ruby mumbled to herself.

Blake could be anywhere doing anything, Ruby had stopped trying to guess a long time ago. Weiss on the other hand, would have gone to Atlas, been made leader of a team, and be one of the greatest huntresses ever. 'She would have forgotten about me by now.' Ruby thought. It sent a pang of wistfulness through her chest.

After their hostile beginnings were forgotten Ruby and Weiss had done their best to be teammates, and they succeeded. Along with being an exceptional pair when fighting the two had formed a phenomenal friendship. The only problem was that Ruby wanted to be more than friends, but she never told Weiss. Ruby had felt it would be better if she just kept everything to herself so that their dynamic as teammates and friends would remain unchanged. 'Besides, she wouldn't be interested in me anyway.' That thought had also been an important factor when she chose to keep her feelings to herself. Weiss was incredible and Ruby was just okay. On top of that, Ruby didn't even know if Weiss was gay. They had never talked about that kind of stuff while they were together, and she never did anything to indicate her tastes. Ruby made the assumption that Weiss was straight and never told her what she felt.

A feeling of isolation wrapped itself around Ruby and she struggled to break free. The sensation reminded her that she was supposed to avoid thinking about her old friends. Every now and then she would forget and think about the past. It always triggered visceral feelings of loneliness and longing. Ruby pushed the thoughts from her head and focused on walking.

When Blake woke up she heard the crackling of a fire and could smell something being cooked. Her eyes opened up to the inside of her tent, she rolled over to face the entrance and saw Sun sitting near the fire with a couple fish being cooked over it. Beyond him was the white sand of a beach and the azure ocean stretching further than Blake could see.

Blake's stomach rumbled and Sun looked from the fire to Blake, "About time you woke up, it's almost noon."

Blake sat up, "What. We should be on the way to the next location. Why didn't you wake me up?" Blake sent a glare at Sun and he deflected it with a smile.

"I thought you could use the rest, and that gave me enough time to catch these." He proudly gestured to the two fish over the fire.

Blake wouldn't admit it, but she had been tired the last few days, and a hot breakfast would be nice after living off the boring rations that they had been eating.

Begrudgingly Blake asked, "Are they done?"

"I think so, I've never cooked anything over a fire before, but how hard can it be?"

Blake went out to Sun and sat next to him. He pulled both of the fish out and handed one to Blake. Sun took a bite of his and said, "It tastes okay."

Blake looked the fish over to see if there was anything off about it. She didn't notice anything and took a bite. It tasted good and Blake decided that they had already lost a lot of time, a few more minutes wouldn't hurt.

When Blake and Sun finished their breakfast, they broke camp and headed in the direction of the next base.

Blake opened her backpack and selected the file that pertained to the base they were going to next. Months ago, Ghira had raided the White Fangs headquarters, he had found information on everything that the White Fang was doing. Things like the roster of guards at a particular branch, the size of uniform that individual members wore, inventory of supplies, upcoming rallies and meeting places, everything that the White Fang did or knew about was stored there. The most noteworthy being the location and details on eight secret bases that were in the southwestern region of the desert.

"So what have we got to look forward to?" Sun asked, then took a drink from his canteen.

Blake looked over the file and said, "Lieutenant Jinn , he's a chameleon faunus. He was going to be a hunter but changed his mind because he didn't want to protect humans. After that he joined the White Fang and moved up the ranks quickly." Blake's eyes widened and she said, "his body count is over three hundred, and there are a few hunters and huntresses included in that."

Sun looked at Blake and said, "Do you think you'll need help? I can wait to detonate the bombs after I find you."
"I'll be fine Sun." Blake's eyes returned to the file, "He uses two large swords that are coated with fire dust, his semblance lets him summon fire. So, he can light his swords on fire and when he swings them blasts of fire get launched at whoever he's fighting."

Sun pointedly looked at Blake again.

Blake stopped walking and put the file away, Sun also stopped. Then Blake said, "Sun, I'll be fine, the whole reason we destroy the warehouse is so that they're too distracted to see me coming."

Sun moved closer and held both of Blake's hands, "What if you get seen, what if I get caught, what if the bomb doesn't go off, there are a lot of things that can go wrong Blake." The moments where Sun put aside his goofy attitude were rare and this made Blake realize how worried he actually was.

"Everything will be okay Sun, I can handle myself." Blake took on a softer tone as she tried to reassure Sun.

"I know, I know, I just...can't help but worry." An abashed grin appeared on Suns face.

Blake planted a kiss on his cheek and said, "Don't worry, if anything does happen, I know you'll be there to save me."

Once again Blake and Sun found themselves prone overlooking a White Fang compound. The only difference between this night and the others was that it was the longest they had ever waited. It had been six hours with no sign of their target, and Blake was getting frustrated. She had been working toward the eradication of the White Fang from Menagerie for almost six years and had nearly accomplished that goal. All that remained were the eight hidden compounds, three of which Blake and Sun had already been to. And now, one of their targets had the tenacity to not show himself.

"Why haven't we seen him yet?" despite her irritation, Blake was maintaining her calm demeanor.

"I don't know, maybe he's busy doing...whatever White Fang lieutenants do in their spare time." Sun replied.

Blake thought for a moment.

"I'm certain he's in there. Let's get into position, if we destroy the warehouse he'll come out."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? How do you know he's in there?"

"Where else would he be? The first two were inside the whole time. We didn't see them until they walked by a window." Blake looked at Sun.

Sun took his attention off a pair of guards to look at Blake, "But the last one left while we were waiting and didn't come back for a while. I think he's in there too, but we shouldn't rush in there without knowing for sure."

"Please Sun, I just want to get this over with."

Sun didn't respond. He agreed with Blake, but this lieutenant was remarkably more dangerous than the first three. Sun was hesitant to let Blake face him on her own, even though she had assured him it would be alright.

"Fine, but if for whatever reason something goes wrong, find me before you fight him. Okay?

Blake nodded, "Okay." After a pause she added, "When did you get to be such a pessimist?"

"Ever since your dad threatened to rip me in half if anything happened to you, I've been thinking things through more often."

"He probably can't do that."

"Well, I'm not going to risk it, plus I don't want anything happening to you either, Sorry if I've been a pain about it."

Blake brought her face closer to Suns and said, "I think it's sweet, but we've had this conversation already. I can take care of myself."

"Yeah, you can, but it's easier with friends." Sun closed the distance between them and kissed Blake softly.

He felt Blake smile, and then her hot breath as she spoke, "You know, the sooner we get everything done, the sooner we can go back home."

"What, you don't find laying underneath the stars on a sand dune romantic?"

"It lost its appeal after the first few nights."

"Fair enough, I guess we should get going." Sun stood up and offered a hand to Blake, she grabbed it and Sun pulled her to her feet.

Sun went in the direction of the warehouse while Blake angled for the center of the compound. Once she crossed the small patch of desert between herself and the base, She jumped over the fence and landed nearby a covered area that was used to store vehicles. She was careful to avoid the pair of guards walking around the bays, as well as one guard who seemed to have snuck off for a smoke break between two trucks. After navigating that obstacle she waited until the coast was clear and made a dash to the building. Blake efficiently scaled the side of the building and pulled herself over the ledge when she reached the top. She stood on the roof and began to walk over to where she could better signal Sun. 'perfect, now all I have to do is signal Sun and-

The ringing of an alarm split the night and made Blake jump. She looked at the source of the noise, a speaker only five feet away, and began to panic. She was certain no one had seen her. Sun could have been discovered, but that seemed unlikely, his stealth skills had improved tremendously over the years, and sneaking to the warehouse was simple. Blake went back to the ledge she had climbed over and looked down. Her eyes followed the scattered mass of White Fang uniforms converging on the entrance of the base. Eventually she saw who must have been the cause for the alarm. A single person wearing a red cloak with the hood pulled up had walked through the front gate and was making their way toward the building Blake was on top of. After the surprise wore off, Blake realized this would be a good opportunity to take out the lieutenant. She scanned for him in the crowd but didn't see anyone resembling him. By this point one of the soldiers had yelled something at the figure and they stopped. 'He must still be inside' Blake thought. She had no guess as to why, but the reason didn't matter. Blake hopped over the ledge and landed on the balcony below. She pulled Gambol shroud out and smashed the window of the door. She reached inside and unlocked it, then she withdrew her hand and opened the door.

Normally Blake would have proceeded cautiously, but since every White Fang member was outside she didn't feel the need. She sprinted across the room and out the doorway. According to the information in the files the lieutenants offices were on the third floor, Blake sprinted to the the end of the hallway and leapt down the first half of the stairs, she repeated the action on the second half. A sign nearby proclaimed this was the third floor and Blake looked around. She could hear gunfire and shouting from outside, but decided that must have been because of the person in red.

A door close to the halfway point of the hallway opened and a large chameleon faunus stepped out. He wore black boots, black pants, a red vest, and the white coat given to lieutenants. His head was shaved and his face was rugged. He closed the door and looked at Blake.

His voice rumbled out from behind his beard, "You must be Blake Belladonna. I just got done talking with Adam about you, he warned me about what you've been up to." His face shifted into a frown, "Six of our outposts destroyed in a matter of weeks, you and your friend have been busy."

Blake was confused, she and Sun had only been to three so far, not including this one. Instead of questioning him she chose to raise Gambol Shroud and took a fighting stance. She couldn't think of a reason that he would think they had attacked six of the bases, but there were more important things to do than figure out why.

"Straight to it then." He grinned and took one of his swords out. "I've never been one for talk either." They eyed each other for a second. Blake started the fight by firing off a few rounds and ran at him. He shifted his sword and it blocked the shots, then he ran forward to meet Blake. She jumped to the side to avoid the overhead swing that split the floor when it landed. Blake slashed at the lieutenants side, but he was able to block it. Then he spun with his sword aimed outward. Blake dropped down to the floor while the blade went over her.

Blake summoned a clone and rolled behind the lieutenant. He saw the crouched clone of Blake and lashed out at it with a kick. Blake swung both of her weapons into the lieutenants back, damaging his aura. He whirled around slashing with his sword. Blake jumped backward to avoid the strike. The lieutenant held his hand near his sword and it lit on fire. Without giving Blake time to think he swung it in her direction and a line of fire came racing at her. Blake hadn't been far enough away to dodge it and the edge of the fire caught her in the side. She ignored it and raised her pistol, firing a few shots while she re-positioned. The lieutenant blocked with his sword and performed a quick sequence of strikes that sent fire at Blake. She danced around each one but didn't realize that the lieutenant had placed them specifically so she would move closer to him. The lieutenants sword connected with Blake's midsection and sent her flying backward, all the way to the stairwell where she was halted by the wall.

Blake was dazed and took a few seconds to stand. Luckily for her the lieutenant hadn't taken the opportunity to attack. Blake heard the sound of breaking glass and got up. She reloaded then took the stairs two at a time and ran to the only open door on the floor. She looked into the room and saw that the windows had been smashed, letting the brisk night air in. Blake ran at the windows and leapt out.

Blake realized her mistake when she saw the lieutenant positioned below her. Both his swords were out and ignited. With Blake falling she had no way to defend herself. The lieutenant launched a barrage of fire at Blake and all she could do was brace herself. She felt the impact of each hit on her aura and the intense heat as they washed over her.

When Blake landed she went into a roll and sprang up, firing a full magazine at the lieutenant. In an impressive display of strength and coordination he successfully blocked most of Blake's bullets with only a couple finding their mark. The lieutenant unleashed a furious yell and charged at Blake with both swords raised to strike. Blake raised her weapons to deflect the right attack and she summoned a clone to block the left. Blake was shocked by the force behind the blow and nearly lost grip on her weapons. She felt her clone disappear behind her. The lieutenant brought his knee upward and it connected with Blake's stomach.

Blake fell to the ground on her hands and knees, gasping for air. The lieutenant raised his swords for a downward slice. Blake's life flashed before her eyes. She saw her time in the White Fang when she had been a kid, the heated argument she had with her parents before leaving, Adam and the missions they had done together, the day Blake had met Yang, Weiss, and Ruby, their time at Beacon fighting together, attending classes, meeting Sun and running away from her friends, the Vytal festival, and the fall of Beacon. Blake closed her eyes and thought about all of the mistakes she made. How she always hurt the people that cared about her. She waited to feel the bite of steel on her back.

Instead she heard the sound of steel hitting steel. Blake opened her eyes and saw a rose petal laying next to her hand. She turned her head to see what had stopped the lieutenants blades.

Blake hadn't recovered from getting the wind knocked out of her, the word came out choked and faint, "Ruby?"

I would appreciate some feedback on this. I want to improve, so any constructive criticism is welcome.

Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it.