Miracles of Ancient Wonder
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Chapter 5.3
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Finding the right warehouse, without letting their enemies know someone was searching for them, took barely any time. Most of the White Fang had never learned any degree of subtlety when Blake left and that seemed to still be true. They didn't stand around in uniform, but they still stuck to their own groups and used the same guard patterns. Three younger teens sat at a corner playing cards, their swords on their belts. An alley down, two older women had guns ready, watching the kids with a strategically placed mirror.
Blake kept to the shadows that had fallen since sunset and crept along a wall that wasn't due for another patrol for several minutes. She skipped from brick to brick, catching an edge with a toe and pushing off as if it was a solid floor. At the top of the wall, she kicked off, landing on the roof across the street. Her Aura muffled her landing, heels silent on the metal roofing. The lock on the roof entrance fell in a single strike from her blade.
Moments later, she was in.
The rooms in the warehouse were almost entirely lit up, despite it being after dark and the Faunus not needing much light to see. It was the first strike against her hope that they'd been wrong. She slid into a supply closet and pulled out her scroll.
I'm in. Are you in position? She texted to Yang.
I'm in whatever position you want me to be. The response was almost immediate.
Blake tapped her forehead against the wall while her scroll buzzed again. Yang had sent her a set of images. She hesitated for a moment, then opened the first. It was a picture of the front of the warehouse. The rest of the various pictures were of White Fang patrols... Which implied that Yang was somehow taking pictures, in what looked like plain sight, without being noticed.
Seriously though, I'm as close to right out front as I can get. Yang sent another message, with another picture. This one was a high angle shot of her hiding behind something. The shot was centered on her chest.
Blake let out a breath. She'd been worried that Yang wouldn't be able to navigate through the alleys, even with the White Fang locations pointed out. The plan, which Yang didn't like very much, was for them to get the information without needing to fight. If they really needed to, then they could, but it would be much better to find out what was happening without anyone discovering them. Of course, that all relied on there being actual information in the warehouse.
With her scroll silenced, Blake slunk out of the closet and continued her advance. She stopped at each door, pausing to listen to the conversations within. Most of them, like many things that people spoke about, were worthless. They were personal and only mattered to the people involved.
She found only two potentially useful places to listen in. The first was a woman chanting in a strange language that she'd never heard before. But at the same time, it sounded awfully familiar. She listened for a short time, all while watching the hallway. Someone had hung a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the knob, which had originally belonged to the Blue Light Inn from the monogram at the bottom.
The second was a man complaining over the sounds of heavy typing. The room also happened to be placed so that it would overlook the warehouse floor. Blake crept up to the edge of the door to listen in.
"-course they have to be two blocks from the cops. Stupid animals'll just get caught if I send them there. Not that Junior's boys were any better." The man chuckled and sighed. "What does it take to find good help in this town? You'd think my name would be worth something by now."
Blake tightened her grip on her blade. There had to be some sort of mistake. The White Fang she knew would never let that type of language go, let alone work with someone who used it.
She opened her ears to the hidden truths between his words and waited. So much of what he said was petty insults or thinking aloud about why a given business was a bad target. But, there was an undercurrent of tension beneath the racist complaints, a desperate search to please someone who awed and terrified him. All signs pointed to the chanting woman as the source of his worry and he had no idea what she was doing.
Was that the missing connection? He never described her animalistically, so she probably wasn't a Faunus. But, if she had him that worried, he might not want to risk her hearing him say anything bad about her. Some of the other leaders of the White Fang were more willing to work with humans than Adam. That would fit with everything Blake knew about the situation so far. It would also give the alliance an easy head to remove.
She stepped away from the door and started back down the hall when a sound came from the office. Someone had opened another door and stepped into it. Probably a girl by the sound the person's heels made.
"What happened now?" he groaned.
All Blake could make out was the sound of cloth brushing against cloth in response.
"They're doing what?"
A chair slid out and he stomped to the other side of the room. The other person followed him out.
Blake waited for several seconds, listening carefully for the sound of anyone else present, before cracking the door open. It was an office, just like she'd expected, and it overlooked a floor filled with tables. Members of the White Fang, some wearing masks and some not, were sorting through different types of Dust at each of them. While watching them was important, also the person who was unmistakably Roman Torchwick, it paled in comparison to the rest of the room. There was a lot of information here: folders, files, and a computer.
Blake skipped over to the screen and smiled when she saw that he hadn't locked it. Her fingers flew over the keyboard and mouse, searching for the most damning evidence that she could find, and there was a treasure trove. Blueprints, Hunter patrol routes, special police frequencies: Roman had so much information that he should never have been able to get. But, most of it wasn't very useful for Blake. They needed his plans for the future, so they could trap him where he least expected it.
Of course, when she plugged her transfer cable in, the computer didn't respond. Blake tapped the mouse a couple of times while she considered her options. She didn't know that much about computers, living outside of the kingdoms for most of her life meant she never worked with them too much. But, when she focused on the language used in the menu options, the way through revealed itself.
Blake quickly found what options she needed to open this one up. With the machine open, she plugged her scroll into the computer and copied entire folders whenever one of the files inside felt suspicious. With enough data for his past plans, they should be able to figure out what he'd do next.
With that in mind, and enough files transferring that it would take several minutes for them to finish, she crept up to the window. Blake focused her Aura and forced herself further into the darkness, removing her from sight, hearing, any form of perception that she knew of. With her scroll barely above the window line, she didn't have a very long cable, she snapped several pictures of the warehouse, the people inside of it, and the conspicuously annotated map on the wall.
Meanwhile, Roman was berating a group of Faunus who were... Blake forced her eyes closed and sighed. They were standing near a makeshift shrine of bloodstained claws surrounding a circle of silver. She'd seen enough services to know it was dedicated to the Bloody Huntress, the most violent aspect of the moon goddess, Luna.
"What is that?" he shouted, two of them flinched away.
"It's a shrine. For victory in our hunt," One girl growled at him.
"Don't bother praying for salvation. No one's listening." Roman rolled his eyes and tapped the circle with his cane. "If you really want to win, then keep sorting ammunition."
He shook his head and waved them off. A very short girl, wearing an equally expensive outfit, followed behind him. She shrugged in a very exaggerated motion and rolled her head to one side with a vicious smirk. A finger twirled around her necklace, pulling it tight.
"Wouldn't that be a sight, their own god turning on them like that."
Blake checked her scroll once more when their footsteps were approaching the room. It still hadn't finished transferring. The copying bar was moving way too slowly. She forced herself to remain still and neither drum her fingers nor tap her heel. All she needed to do was minimize all of the dialogue boxes on the computer, hide her scroll behind it, and wait for him to get pulled away by something else.
She held her breath as the pair walked in. Their eyes passed over her hiding place on top of a filing cabinet in the corner, but neither reacted to her presence. They went on with their half-silent dialogue as if nothing strange was happening.
The girl mimed claws on one hand, then ran her nails across the other wrist with an eyebrow raised.
"Yeah, yeah. I know." Roman sank into the chair. "But do they have any idea how hard it is to find an animal-doctor with training like that? Let alone one willing to work with the raging bull."
'Adam Taurus is demanding the impossible.' Blake listened to the meaning she didn't want to hear, but did anyway because she needed to be certain. She stifled a gasp and clenched her hands. He really had fallen this far, betrayed everything that they'd stood for.
The girl stepped up to the chair and leaned over him. She navigated to a page about a medical school in the Menagerie.
"That's a long way away, Neo." Roman folded his hands over his cane and drummed his fingers. "But, it might just work."
Neo stepped back and took a deep bow.
"We could give Doctor Merlot a call. I'm sure he has space for a new assistant," Roman said. "And, if the old bastard's still sore about his last shipment, I'm sure I can find someone to prove our point. Again."
Neo grinned and clapped her hands very quickly. She mimed thrusting some sort of knife into someone's back, up and under their rib cage from the look of it. Blake flinched when she saw the happy smile on the girl's face.
"We'll just need to pay him a visit before you leave, but for now…" Roman leaned forward with a mad grin on his face. Neo got up on her toes, matching him in intensity. He stayed silent for a moment before continuing, "have you finished your homework?"
Neo's grin fell to an uneasy frown. Then, a moment later, a deep pout. She crossed her arms and shook her head while he cackled maniacally. The look made her seem almost young enough to actually have to do homework. Despite her stature, Blake would have guessed the girl as much older than herself, given how she moved and dressed. She had a degree of confidence and control, without too much arrogance, that Blake hadn't seen in any student at Beacon.
The girl pulled Roman's bowler hat down over his eyes and stomped away in a ridiculously exaggerated manner. But, when she was at the door and he had his hat back on, she turned around and they shared a smile. It was sort of sweet, in a terrifying and utterly unfair manner. Why did these two, criminals who were talking about stabbing someone like it was fun, get to enjoy themselves when so many good people were suffering every day?
Blake swallowed the bile that had risen in her throat. She needed to be patient. Roman Torchwick, and his accomplices, were Vale's most wanted. They'd get what was coming to them soon enough. All she needed was for the files to finish transferring and for him to need to use the bathroom sometime soon.
She just needed to wait… but it was agonizingly slow. The seconds ticked by as Roman fiddled with the computer, boxes were loudly placed down on the warehouse floor, and Blake's own heart beat was the only reliable source of keeping time.
"Come on." Roman muttered soon after working for a couple of minutes. The source of his confusion became apparent with deeper listening. 'What's wrong with this thing?'
Blake went for her weapon.
"This is taking forever." 'It wasn't like this five minutes ago.' Roman spun in his chair while the site loaded. She relaxed slightly while he waited, but pulled half of the blade free when he started clicking again.
"What the? Copying files? Eighty-nine percent?" Roman sat straight up and glanced wildly around the room, eyes widening as they met her hiding place.
Blake moved with a swiftness she had only shown two others, muscles driven by motions shed' practiced until they became second nature.
"Silence them before they raise the alarm." She recalled Adam's advice, his actions when they needed to stay silent. For all of his personal flaws, he was a better teacher than anyone else she'd learned from.
She drew her katana and charged the blade with Aura in a single smooth motion. In mid air, she swung at him, blade inching closer and closer to his throat. It bit into his arm first, most of the power that would've prevented Roman from speaking being blocked.
Blake turned as she landed to his side, her spine twisting past human limits to generate more power. Before Roman could catch his balance, she kicked off the ground. The second strike came out of the spin, snapping at the side of his head as she flipped in the air. Again, he got his arm in the way.
That was no accident, his reflexes were as good as a trained Huntsman. She drew further on the power dwelling within her soul, forcing herself to move faster and faster. The end of her ribbon cracked as it looped around itself and slipped over his head.
He tried to shout, but she held the ribbon taut from behind him. He wouldn't be able to breathe while his Aura slowly drained as it struggled against the pressure. He struggled, threw punches and elbows, but she slipped to the side of each blow. When he went for his cane, she kicked the end away, making the top fall to his feet.
"Blake, just kill him." Another memory from that mission, when she was in exactly this scenario. It was right before the end of her life as a… Come to think of it, she didn't know if there was a word to describe herself prior to becoming Anathema.
While she thought, he still tried to break free. She dodged each attempt and pulled tighter. He groaned from the increased force.
"He's abused our kind for too long. No one will miss him!" Adam shouted.
Blake clenched her teeth. Back then, she let go too soon. The man had still been dangerous, still been able to fight. Now, she wouldn't make the same mistake. She'd hold Roman until he went still and… and then…
Roman Torchwick was a racist and a murder. He was Vale's most wanted. No one would judge her if she did it. They might even celebrate her. But… if she did...
He raised his leg high, Blake stepped back to dodge the stomp, but he wasn't aiming for her foot. His heel fell on the top of his cane.
A Dust shot fired at the window.
~~~
She saw red.
Bright red light shone everywhere because the streets near the docks were way too dark and Ruby needed to be able to see if she wanted to find Blake and Yang. There were only two problems: Weiss, and team JNRP, couldn't see the red light, also there were too many bugs. She'd been expecting some, the alleys were kind of dirty, but this was as bad as it was in the Forever Fall.
They really liked flying right in her face too.
"I'm still saying," Jaune whispered while they continued advancing on Yang's blip on Weiss' map, "I can fight."
"Jaune, we've been over this," Ruby groaned. "We need someone positioned high up to make sure that we know where Roman's escaping from and help us find him again."
"I know, but…" Jaune pulled his sword half from his sheath and stared at it while they walked. "I'm so close."
"If you want, I could help you with it tomorrow." Pyrrha reached out for him, but didn't actually touch his arm.
He shrugged. "Maybe, but meditating like you said doesn't feel right."
"Which techniques have you tried?" Ren stepped up as well. "A different style may work better for you."
"Ohh, you said it feels warm, right? Maybe if we light you on fire, you'll understand your sword better!" Nora pulled a lighter out of her bag and held it against his hoodie.
Ruby giggled then froze. Goosebumps ran down her back and a chill wind tore through the street. Something bad, really bad was going to happen soon. She turned to the others and strummed the chords of Mars like she did during their initiation. Petals streamed from her and swirled around them. All five went silent.
"Stay on your toes, I've got a bad feeling about something." She searched the street for anything which looked out of place. "I'm going to go ahead, catch up as soon as you can."
Ruby pulsed her Semblance and dashed off before she could hear any complaints. There was something bad coming and she needed to find Yang before it found them.Thankfully, that should be easy. Yang was nothing if not easy to find.
Actually, she was incredibly easy to find. Ruby glanced into the alley and spotted her almost immediately. She was on a fire escape, 'hiding' behind the solid wall at the corner. It could barely be called being sneaky, but somehow it took a second glance to notice her. But that didn't matter.
Ruby launched herself up in a burst of petals, landing next to her sister. Yang stood up with a start and glanced warily at her.
"Yang, what're you doing?" Ruby whispered.
"How did you find me?"
"Weiss did it."
Yang made a face. It was halfway between frowning and excitement, but looked so silly Ruby had to hold her breath to not laugh at her.
"Why did you come here without us? We were supposed to wait and do this as a team," Ruby whisper-yelled.
"We're just scouting it out… and… and uhh…" Yang gulped and Ruby felt the pressure build. She slammed against the world and it slammed back. Yang winced and rubbed her left temple.
"We had a plan, a plan that everyone agreed was a good one, and now I don't know if it's going to work anymore." She could feel the danger building from this path, but it needed to be said. There was a bigger threat looming over them.
"Blake's just getting information. She'll be in and out without any problems."
"There a huge amount of danger that..." Ruby sighed when Yang shot her a confused look. Did she not understand why doing this was a really big deal? "Yang, is something else going on?"
"What do you mean?"
"Ever since the investigation, you've been acting really weird. I thought that it was just the stress, but now…" She laid her hand on Yang's shoulder and felt the incredible amount of tension. Her muscles were shaking as they fought against themselves.
"Ruby, please." Yang's voice shook as well.
"Yang, something's obviously wrong. If you need help, or even just want to talk about it, I'm here."
"Nothing's wrong." Yang's entire body was shaking now. "Just drop it, please."
"I can't just drop it. When it was just you being weird, that would be one thing. But it's not." Ruby grabbed Yang when she tried to turn away. "This, what you and Blake did, is really dangerous. We needed everyone to be healed and ready, but you two ran off without us."
"Shut up," Yang said through clenched teeth. She tried to pull away, pressing her back against the nearby railing. "Shut up."
"Yang Xiao Long." Ruby adopted the best 'angry mom' voice that she could. "I am your team leader and your sister. Something is obviously hurting you if you're acting like this and-"
"I'M NOT GOING TO!-"
"-I am not going to-" They yelled simultaneously, but Ruby continued on. "-let you, my sister, stand there in pain!"
The warning of danger dissipated.
Yang went slack in Ruby's arms, torso leaning over the open air. The life, the passion, the energy in her eyes was gone.
"Fuck it." The words escaped Yang's lips as a whisper. "I'm damned anyway."
"Y-Yang?" Ruby gasped and fumbled. Yang slipped further over the railing. It felt like she got heavier and heavier, even without anything moving.
"All of us are. It was just a matter of time."
"Yang, you… Help!" Ruby pulled as hard as she could, but she couldn't make any progress. The rusty railing groaned and buckled.
The sisters tumbled off of the fire escape. They hit the ground hard enough to shatter the concrete, Ruby landed on top of Yang.
"Yang, Yang!" she cried out, shaking Yang's shoulders as a number of other people yelled. "What're you…"
"It's over…" Yang mumbled, head lolling to one side.
"Ruby!" Weiss skated towards them on her glyphs, sword drawn. "What happened?"
"I don't know. Yang... she... she just." Ruby's hands shook and the corners of her eyes burned.
"Ruby, what did you do?" Weiss looked from Yang to Ruby and back.
"You hurt my head." Yang mumbled again.
"I… I…" Ruby stammered as she thought back to moments ago. The danger that she'd been feeling, it wasn't their enemies, at least not all of it. It was her, she was the one who was going to hurt her sister.
She left go of Yang and looked at Weiss. There was a tension building up around her, a pressure as she tried to make a decision.
Ruby's blood ran cold.
She didn't push on the world as hard as she could, she pushed on Yang. She'd been doing that to her friends this entire time and… She glanced down at her sister's motionless form. Yang was breathing so shallowly that Ruby could barely see it.
Ruby felt the truth deep within her soul. This was her fault. She did this. She was the one who pushed Yang over the edge. And the rest of the world could wait.
Weiss was yelling at her, but she didn't pay attention to the words. Team JNPR ran up with worry in their eyes, but she didn't respond. The White Fang members across the street aimed their weapons at her. She didn't care; her Aura could take it.
Ruby took shallow breaths, searching for any sign of the happy, energetic, passionate, even angry sister that she knew. But there was none. The bugs swarmed her, preventing her from making anything else out.
She closed her eyes and turned off the red glow. Each breath felt like she was drawing it through a straw. Tears threatened to escape from her eyes, but she wouldn't let them out. She didn't deserve to cry when she was the one who was wrong. Yang had been pleading for her to stop, she should've listened.
A window shattered and bullets began flying.
Ruby opened her eyes to Blake diving out of the way of an explosive Dust shot. She had her katana drawn and was holding what looked like a rack of hard drives in her other hand. The blast kicked up parts of the road where it hit, Blake smoothly dodged around each of the fragments. Roman Torchwick, and tiny female accomplice, jumped down to the street and he fired another shot at her.
Blake caught the shell with the back of her sword and flicked it at the White Fang members in the other alley. Before she could get back on her feet, she jumped away from… nothing. Just empty air.
Ruby stood up and drew her sword. Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora pulled their weapons free as well.
"Weiss, help Blake." Ruby could feel the heat coming back. "JNPR, surround Roman. I'll-"
She caught a glint from one of the windows that shouldn't be there. Ruby shouted, "Blake, up!"
Blake flipped towards them just in time for three glass arrows to pass under her back. The heads embedded into the road and glowed bright orange, then exploded.
The window they were fired from burst outward at the same time, revealing a dark haired woman with a glass bow, dress gilded with Orichalcum channels, and eyes that glowed like fire. The left hand side of her body was coated a dark, gooey liquid.
She glared at Ruby's group while the channels on her dress glowed brighter, the shining light visible even through the goop. Dust flowed around her arms and coalesced into large clouds of sparkling mist.
"She's casting a spell!" Weiss shouted.
Ruby's mind whirled with possibilities. She needed a plan five minutes ago.
