Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ruby was still fumbling with her helmet as the lights around her shifted from its normal color to blue and the alarms blaring outside of her quarters. Today was the day, the day they will end the Grimm armies. For years Remnant clashed against the dark armies of Grimm, slowly chipping away their forces as they pressed on into the heart of their forces. Just as she attached her helmet to her life support system, a call from the doorway snapped her out of her thoughts as she turned to face them.

“I know that you’re on standby Ru, but that doesn’t mean to take your time.” The female pilot called.

“I know, I know,” She replied as she pulled herself towards the door, even with the black helmet covering most of her features she could still make out the amber eyes staring back. It didn’t take her long to appear at the door, holding the side handle next to the doorframe to keep her from floating away, “You know you’re the only one that can get away with that nickname Kali.”

The black clad pilot chuckled as she pulled the younger pilot out into the hallway, “I know, now let’s get to the briefing room before your father gets mad at us.”

Both the red and black pilots gripped the accelerating handles that propelled them effortlessly through the zero gravity halls. It didn’t take them long to reach the doors to the briefing room, as both pilots held the handles waiting for the doors to open up.

“Why is that the Atlesian Ships have artificial gravity and our ships don’t?” Ruby asked as she stopped herself from flipping upside down.

Kali chuckled at the sight before answering, “Well it’s because the Atlesians love to make decorative microwaves rather than focusing on the essential parts.”

Ruby couldn’t suppress her laughter at that remark, “That’s true, their ships are always the first to be destroyed.”

The conversation was cut short as the doors opened, revealing another black clad pilot only that he had yellow stripes along his arms and helmet. “It’s about time you arrived Kali, we were just about to start.”

“Don’t worry Ghira, I brought her just like you all asked.” Kira said as she embraced the bigger man.

“Hey lovebirds! Don’t forget that we’re in a meeting you know.” A shout came from the back of the room, as Ruby flew past the two Faunus she instantly flash a grin at the man in the back.

“Qrow!” She said as she virtually crashed into the older pilot who laughed at the small action.

“It’s nice to see you too Ruby,” Qrow said as he started ruffling her hair. After a while, the two of them separated as they noticed Tai and Summer approaching them.

“So the first person you go to is Qrow instead of your own father? I’m hurt Ruby.” Tai said as he faked getting hurt earning him a playful punch on the shoulder from Summer.

“Hey, it’s not my fault that she knows who’s cooler than the other.” He playfully jabed at the older man.

Ruby laughed as the rest of the room rolled their eyes. Everyone shifted their eyes towards the door as a white-haired man entered along with a blonde haired woman closely behind. The room immediately went quiet as everyone stood to attention, well tried to stand.

“Everyone, I believe you all know why we’re here?” Ozpin asked as his gaze shifted among all the pilots. No one said a word as they nodded in reply.

“Glynda if you would,” The white-haired nodded towards his colleague who began to type on the central computer.

“Our target is Salem, as of right now The Grimm have left us an opening for us to attack. She’s onboard the Grimm Dragon Class Cruiser along with several Goliath Class Carriers, we believe that they are onroute through the Wind Path System.”

“I see, the Wind Path System is riddled with many asteroids and not many ships can pass through at the same time.” Another voice joined the conversation from behind Qrow. Ruby strained her neck trying to see the other pilot in the room, she saw a male pilot clad in white and barely can make out his azure blue eyes.

“That is exactly why this is our time to strike, as the Goliath Carriers are moving through it would leave the main cruiser exposed.” Ozpin looked towards all the pilots in the room before his eyes fell upon Summer, “And the one leading the charge is Miss Rose herself.”

Summer saluted in response as her attention went to Ruby who smiled back.

“Because of Miss Rose’s special ability, she needs to be protected at all cost. That is why I assembled all of you.”

“All of you are to protect the Frigate, Tempest, from any Grimm fighters. Qrow and Raven are being assigned assault fighters, Ghira and Kali are piloting the bullhead, and Jacques is being assigned to the interceptor.” Glynda scrolled off her tablet.

“Sortie begins in three hours,” Ozpin exited the room, leaving all the pilots and Glynda alone.

Everyone was about to leave to their quarters until their attention drew to the smaller girl who cleared her throat.

“So… what will I be doing?” She asked.

Glynda looked through her tablet before looking back at the young pilot, “You will be on board the Corvette, Storm, as for your father he will be onboard the destroyer, Quake.”

Ruby looked at her in confusion, “But I have my own fighter, I can go with the others!”

Glynda looked at her hesitantly before answering, “Your father and your mother asked me personally to pull you from the main force. Even without their permission I still wouldn’t allow you to fly at all with your ship.”

“Just because I modified it doesn’t mean that it isn’t space worthy.”

“Your last test left you out in dead space and your engines were shot.”

“That- was an accident,” Her voice trailed off.

“Exactly, we can’t afford to miss this chance. Now if you’ll excuse me I need to help resupply the rest of the fleet before the jump.”

Everyone said their farewells as they proceeded towards the hanger bay, Ruby stayed behind as she sulked in the corner.

‘I'm sitting out on another mission again’

Shortly after she buried her head in her arms ignoring the world around her. The crimsonette didn't even register the door to the room opening until she felt a pair of arms being wrapped around her.

“There, there Ru. Your parents just want you to be safe.” Kali said, trying to reassure her.

“But I want to help Kali, it just feels like I'm just tagging along so that they have a another way to keep an eye on me.”

“There are other ways to help than being on the front lines Ru, it’s just you have to find out how to.” Kali slowly let go of the embrace as Ruby looked up at the Faunus with a small smile.

“Thanks Kali, I- I think you should go on ahead. Wouldn’t want to keep your husband waiting any longer.”

The older woman flashed a small smile as she propelled herself towards the exit, before she left she turned towards the crimsonette and shouted, “You know, I believe I saw a couple of workers move your ship into the Storm.”

Ruby’s mood immediately shifted as she looked up with a massive grin, “Did they really?!”

The cat Faunus chuckled at the sight as the younger girl made her way towards the exit. “You know I can’t wait for you to be an aunt when this is all over.”

Ruby’s face immediately flushed at that thought as she tried (and failed) to cover her face with her hands. "W-wha?!"

"What? You'll be great! Not everyone gets to know an expert pilot who graduated at fourteen."

"Aren't you nineteen?" Ruby asked with a brow raised.

The ebony haired woman shrugged before replying, "I can wait another year or two. What about you? Found anyone you like?"

Ruby chuckled at the remark, "I think I'll wait another decade or two, not many people seem interesting."

"Don't wait too long, otherwise you might not find anyone to date."

"I'll take it to heart, promise me that you'll make it?"

"Only if you promise too."

Both pilots nodded in agreement as they went their separate ways after reaching the hanger bay.

...

"Torpedos Ready!"

"All thrusters and online, fuel pipes are good to go."

"Weapons are green, Point Defense Cannons are loaded."

"Shields up and charged!"

"All stations are ready to go, on your word Ozpin."

Ruby sat at a console trying her best not to fidget around in her seat as the timer went down. She glanced around the bridge as everyone began to strap themselves in. Captain Peach was directing operators to their stations before she strapped herself in as the FTL drives were spinning up. She looked out from the window next to her towards the rest of the fleet as each ship emitted a lightish blue glow before disappearing into the darkness. Her trace was broken as the lights around her shifted to red and the alarms began to blare.

"-umping in five, four, three-"

Her grip on her harness tightened as she felt the whole ship shake, it felt like minutes as the moment passed. The jump was short and as soon as they came out of slipspace, the red lights shifted to blue as everyone began stand at attention.

"The Tempest hasn't came out of FTL yet Captain!"

"Then fire torpedo hatches two through seven, lay down covering fire for the main calvary to arrive." Captain Peach ordered.

Ruby felt the vibrations of the torpedos launching from her console, she went through the cams to examine the battle's current condition. Several other ships came out from FTL, some already firing towards the Dragon Cruiser as it launched out counter attacks of its own.

"Goliath Class Carrier port side!"

"Shit, several Lancer fighters are heading this way!"

Ruby flicked through the monitor, getting a view of the intercepting fighters.

"Captain! Permission to use the rail guns?!" She shouted.

Peach looked hesitant at her direction, she slowly nodded in approval as she punched something on her tablet.

Ruby’s console lit up in response as the screen displayed the status of each gun. She took a deep breath as she closed her eyes.

“Enemy fighters closing in, they’re too close for torpedoes!”

“Damn, torpedoes four, six, and seven missed.”

“Lancers almost in PDC range Captain.”

Ruby blocked out all the commotion around her as she focused her breathing, she’s done this before she’s just have to focus on the feeling.

Peach starred at the younger pilot before focusing back on the battle, “Send out the fighters, prepare all teams for combat and-”

Peach held the nearest rail as the Corvette shook, she looked around as everyone seemed fazed by the impact.

“Status report!” Peach shouted as she tried to fix herself upright.

“Rail gun batteries one through five had shot ma’am.”

“Confirmed hits from all shots, all Lancers were destroyed ma’am.”

Peach looked her staff in confusion before looking towards the crimsonette. Ruby’s eyes emitted a small yet noticeable silver glow as her hands danced across the console.

“Captain, several more fighters are onroute. I would recommend that we divert energy to Port side shields.” Ruby said without looking away from the monitor.

“Y-you heard the lady, get to it men!” Peach recovered from her shock as she went back to her console.

‘Ozpin was right, those born with silver eyes are a force to be reckoned with’

“Ma’am, the Tempest as just came out of FTL. Your orders Captain?”

Peach looked out from the main window, everything was falling into place. They had Salem trapped between an asteroid belt and their fleet as her escort was already crossing through the field.

“All hands get ready! We’re about to clear the way for the Tempest!”

“Aye Ma’am!” The whole bridge echoed with the chant.

The Storm lurched forward as the engines fired up. Ruby braced herself as she shook in her seat as the Corvette accelerated near the asteroid belt towards the massive cruiser. She eyed the monitor for any movement from the enemy command ship as she scanned the surrounding area. Her senses were warning her, but she couldn’t see anything on the scanners. She pulled her eyes away from the monitor as she saw the Tempest closing in, launching torpedoes and firing a hail of plasma. The enemy flagship did nothing but fired back while the Tempest and two other Destroyers closed the distance. Ruby looked towards the Frigate that almost upon the enemy cruiser until her scanner flared. Her eyes broke away from the fight as she glanced towards her scanner. Red blimps began to light up around them as they flew closer to the fleet.

‘No, this can’t be a-’

“Captain Peach! Turn Starboard side now!” Was all she could’ve yelled before it was too late.

The Storm immediately shifted left as a bright yellow beam grazed the hull. Before they could recover another beam passed through the portside engines. Ruby pried her eyes from the scanner as she stared at the rest of the fleet. Similar beams ignited all around the battlefield as their fleet was being torn up to shreds.

“Damage report!” Peach shouted as she pulled up the interface.

“We lost engines three and four, hull breach on deck thirteen, PDC systems are down.”

“Captain we’ve got incoming!”

Captain Peach looked towards the commotion as she saw several black ships emerged from the asteroid belt.

“This was a trap,” Peach’s voice trailed off as the enemy drew closer. Several smaller ships latched onto the Storm as the crew tried to reorganized themselves.

“We got intruders on deck eleven and twelve!”

Ruby unstrapped herself from her chair as she launched herself towards one of the elevators.

“Ruby! Where are you going?!”

She turned around as she entered the elevator, “If we don’t stop them, this whole ship will go down!”

“Ruby get back her-” Was the last thing she heard as the doors closed. She held onto the side rail until the doors opened. She flew through the halls with haste until she arrived in front of the armory doors. She punched in the code but the screen read access denied .

‘Dammit they have a seer onboard? I don’t have time for this’

She stuck a cord into the side panel as she typed into her gauntlet. Seconds after the door opened and she was greet with the sight of many weapons. Ruby pulled a Vector LSR from one of the racks and an energy revolver. Just as she was holstering her weapons she heard metal scraping against the metal behind her, she ducked behind one of the many crates as she held her breath. The sound drew closer and the sounds it made became more audible, she can hear the metallic growl that came from whatever it was at the door.

‘A beowolf? I thought they sent in the creeps first’

She didn’t have time to think as she heard the metal monster approaching closer, without any hesitation she kicked herself upwards as she pulled the Vector from her side. It took a moment for the Beowolf to register her presence until a barrage of plasma ripped the exoskeleton and the circuits underneath apart. She caught herself from drifting, she kicked off the ceiling towards the exit. She looked back towards the mechanical beast, black fluids began to seep out of the holes as certain limbs began to spark. She pulled a couple of clips before heading back to the elevator, she closed the door and punched in the button. The elevator didn't shift at all as she punched the button once more.

“Great, just great.” Ruby tapped her helmet comm and adjusted the frequency, “Captain Peach, elevator is broken. I need time to get back to the brid-”

“No, head to the hanger and get out of here Ruby, we have multiple Grimm machines outside our door and they disabled the elevators too.”

“Wha- I'm not just going to leave you-”

“Yes you will Ruby, the moment you are off I'm scuttling The Storm."

Ruby froze like a deer in headlights when she heard that. Dammit everything was going wrong, she couldn't do anything let alone try to save anyone. She punched the wall in frustration, leaving a small dent in the process.

"Why? Why can't I do anything?" She cried as she removed her hand from the dent. She felt like she was about to burst into tears but felt nothing. After a short while she placed her hand against her comms, "O-okay, I- I promise I'll make it back."

"Don't worry about us kid, we'll hold them off as long as you need to."

And with that the transmission was severed and she was alone, she looked around in the cramp elevator eventually settling on the hatch above her. She shot open the hatch and pushed away the flying debris as she crawled out. Soon after she pulled herself down the elevator shaft, hastily making her way towards the hanger bay. It didn't take long for her to cut through the doors and even shorter to slip through. She flew past several halls passing by dismembered crew mates, she tried her best to keep on going and fighting the urge to stay behind to find survivors. She kept her Vector to her chest as she made it inside, the lights were still dim and both the hanger doors were closed. Even in the dimly lit room she can still make out the Grimm inside, their red eyes glowed in the darkened room.

'Two Beowolves and an Ursa?'

Thankfully they still haven't noticed her as she crept into the room, she hid behind a cargo container listening to the metallic growls. They shifted around the room, one grew closer to the crimsonette, she pulled out her revolver and kept it close to her chest as the sound drew near.

Her grip tightened as the metal claws scrapped the ground next to her, she held her breath as she concentrated on that feeling from before. She jumped from her spot as the container behind her was shredded in half, the beowolf kept its feet on the floor as it tried to swipe at her. She slowly floated upwards as she pulled the trigger, the barrel flashed as the shot tore off one of its arms. A couple more shots rang out as the metallic body was in five pieces with random scrapes and black fluids floating about. By the time she caught herself from drifting the other two Grimm turned their attention towards the young pilot, she kicked off of the ceiling towards her fighter in the back. By the time she made it over to her ship the Grimm was almost upon her as they tore through ships and cargo, the beowolf emitted a bone chilling howl as the Ursa continued its path towards her.

‘Shit, it’s calling for reinforcements’

Before she could react several shots pierced through the walls as bright lasers lit up the room. The lasers continued to puncture through the hull leaving holes that led to the vacuum of space. Several stray shots tore apart the oncoming Grimm while several nearly hit her as she hid. Soon after the lasers stopped firing, Ruby looked out from her cover as she examined the ruined hanger. Several remaining fighters were torn up like paper and the two Grimm that were pursuing her also suffered the same fate. Holes dotted the walls as debris were sucked out. She silently cursed to herself as the ship began to tremble around her.

“Ruby! Are you off the ship yet?!” Peach yelled through her comms.

“Almost there, what was that?”

“Enemy ship made a pass by, lost the other half of the engines and the bridge is the only place with life support.”

“What’s the current situation on the battlefield?” She had as she pulled herself into the cockpit, tightly strapping herself in.

“We lost contact with the Tempest and several other ships, Quake, Clockwork, and Lionheart are the only ships left in this sector.”

Ruby closed the cockpit and began to fire up the engines, her fighter emitted a low hum as it started up. “Peach! Can you open up the hanger door?”

“Negative, that stupid Seer has the entire ship on lockdown.” There was a brief pause from the Captain before she continued, “Ruby you better make it quick, they almost cut through the opens.”

She didn’t say a word as she directed the front of her ship towards the massive door.

‘Engines green, FTL drive green, Overdrive Core green, weapons green'

"Peach, is that ship still out there?"

"-old on, it's on starboard side and-" The radio staticed.

"Thanks for the heads up." Ruby fired torpedoes at the door, the broken doors were blown off and pulled into space along with several containers and unmanned fighters. She cut her engines and allowed her craft be pulled along with the other debris, she braced herself as her ship spun in space.

“I made it out Peach… Peach? Come in Peach?”

Her fighter gained distance from the Corvette before the bridge was engulfed in flames, soon after the ship detonated taking the Grimm ship with it. She blinked away the forming tears as she stared at the wreckage before her. The sound of static broke her out of her trance, she turned on her engines as she activated her ship’s comms. Immediately her headset was flooded with many distress calls as she flew past the wreckage.

“-his is Gold Three, I got two on my tail-”

“-nemy fire on port side need assistan-”

“-an anyone contact the Tempest?!-”

“Several more ships are appearing through the field-”

Soon after all the calls were cut as a familiar voice overshadowed everyone else's.

"All ships prepare for a full scale retreat!"

It took a moment for her to register who the speaker was.

'Ozpin? Wait does that mean-'

The thought died as she was in view of the entire battlefield. Several ships were already pulling away from the battle as the Grimm pursued them, several fighters scrambling away as Grimm Lancers gave chase behind them. Her ship darted around the fields of debris constantly looking for the Tempest. She didn't see anything after the Storm was ambushed, she silently prayed that her mother's ship was still intact. She cleared another asteroid before she felt her world shatter around her, she already recognized the wreckage before her. She knew the ship before she had the chance to look for it's name.

The Tempest

The ship had one massive hole that went through the front of the Frigate to the engines, the bridge was torn to pieces, and by the looks of it the Tempest took the worst of the damage along with one of the Destroyers that had accompanied it during the beginning of the attack. She sighed in relief as she saw that it wasn't the Quake as she got closer. Her train of thought was interrupted as she scanner blared to her right, she took notice of the blimps that appeared on her radar as she picked up her speed. It wasn't hard for the crimsonette to make her way through the maze of debris, trying to shake off the enemy however was a different story. Ruby used the scapes of metal as cover from the oncoming shots from the Grimm, several fighters were tailing her but far enough behind for her to easily dodge their shots. She knew she couldn't outmaneuver them forever, so she used what little time she had to devise a counter attack. Shortly after her cover ran out and the pursuing fighters had a clear shot at her, she quickly fired up the engines and darted side to side avoiding more shots. She looked ahead for any obstacles before reaching up and pulling down a monitor with handles attached to the side of it.

"Hold still ya shi-" She pressed the triggers, allowing a small turret to extend from the back of the fighter. Shots rang out from the gun catching two Lancers by surprise, just as she was aiming for the last pursuer her feed went dark as she felt her craft violently shake. She pushed the monitor back into place as she took control of the ship, she accelerated the engines while attempting to shake off the last Lancer behind her. Ruby glanced behind her and saw the Lancer gaining on her, she smiled as she immediately cut her engines allowing herself to stall as the Grimm flew past her. Right as the enemy flew into her crosshairs she fired watching it burst into a small ball of fire with scrapes of metal flying all over.

'That takes care of that, now heading to ev-'

"This is Onyx One I repeat we need immediate assistance! I repeat-" A distress call rang out from her comms as she began to punch in the coordinates for FTL.

Ruby felt her blood freeze knowing who the caller was, she didn't hesitate as she answered the call, "This is Crimson Two, what's your status?"

"Enemy Griffons are on our tail, sending coordinates now!" Kali said before the call was cut.

As soon as she received the coordinates she sped towards their location in hopes that she wasn't too late. She past another destroyed ship before she spotted the bullhead. Two Griffon Class fighters were tailing the assault shuttle while they were trading shots as well.

"Damn those things are maneuverable," Ruby said as she came up behind them, as she tried lining up the shot. She fired in bursts, slowly clipping the Griffons until one of her shots tore through their engines resulting in one of the fighters to crash into the other. She flew through the smoke as she regrouped with Kali and Ghira.

"What's your status Onyx One?"

"Shields are holding but we lost one of our rear turrets," Ghira responded through the comms, "Ruby are you okay? Your ship is-"

"It's fine. Just a scratch, I'll hold." She began to insert the coordinates once more until her lights flickered throughout her cockpit. She flipped through one of her panels to read her fighter's condition. "Shit coolant cells were damaged and the FTL drive was damaged-"

Her panel sparked as her engines began to die, caution signs covered most of the monitors and the computer started to act up.

"Charging FTL drive." Was all the computer said as she heard the engines charging up. Another message appeared along side the FTL warning, she barely had time to read it as she felt her entire cockpit go cold. "Damage to the Overdrive, initiating suppression systems."

"No! Cancel that order-" Her eyes felt heavy as she saw her windows fogging up, she could barely see her ship going into FTL as she closed her eyes. She felt herself drifting into an abyss of everlasting darkness.

Chapter Text

Her scanner was going off as she rode through the desert, her hoverbike hummed as she accelerated through the day. Her goggles kept the blowing sand out of her eyes and she wore a headscarf to keep sand out of her ears. Amber eyes drifted across the terrain as she got closer to the wreckage.

“Velvet, I can see the destroyed Cutter.” Blake said as she stopped nearby the ruined ship.

“I hear you Blake, ready to get to work?”

“Send me the schematics before I start looking for the parts.” She waited out by a large hole in the side of the hull. She waited for her communicator to buzz before she entered. The Cutter was long devoid of life and the halls were pitched black, she pulled out her energy katana and ignited the blade. A purple glow illuminated the dark corridors of the abandoned ship as she walked across the creaking metal. The pipes above her rasped as sand was blown through it and the doors scraped against the wind. Blake strolled through the hallways until she met her destination, she came up on a closed door that was much larger than the others she had seen earlier. Her sword cut the locks that held the door together and entered the chamber. Her eyes darted around the engine room until they settled on a cylinder in the back. She climbed over a railing and went under a couple of pipes before reaching her destination, she grabbed the handle on top and turned it sideways before pulling out the jump drive. The cylinder slid out with a hiss as the core under it powered down. Blake strapped the drive on her belt as she exited the room.

“Hey Velvs I got the jump drive, what’s next?”

“There should be a targeting chip on the floor under you, I believe there’s an elevator shaft on your right.”

Blake glanced over to the large hole in the floor, “Uh huh, found it.”

She pulled out her grappling gun and holstered her blade. She let her eyes adjust to the darkness as she pulled a flare from her belt. The flare bursted into a red glare as Blake dropped it into the hole, waiting for it to hit the ground. The flare bounced off the floor with an audible thud, she shot her grapple at the roof and slowly reeled herself down into the belly of the ship. Even with her enhanced eyesight she could barely see anything in the dark she pulled out her sword once more and ignited the blade using it as a source of light. She stepped out of the ruined elevator shaft and towards the weapons deck, the room was scattered about with several debris littered across the floor. Blake went to the designated console and pried the cover off revealing the intact wiring inside, she pulled out the chip and stored it away.

"Got it, ready for extraction Velvet." She called.

"Okay updating your nav and- hold on... we got trouble Blake."

"Calm down, what's happening?"

"Several scavengers are heading towards you location, I'll estimate about several minutes until you make contact."

Blake went back towards the elevator and climbed grappled herself up. "How many are there?"

There was a slight pause until the bunny Faunus responded, "Three shuttles, one of them is equipped with guns."

She went back towards the engine room and pulled out a thermal detonator and set the timer along one of the fuel pipes. She backtracked her way out of the Cutter, she wasn't outside when she heard the engines of the shuttles.

'Damn it, they're here early'

Blake stood off to the side of the hole and drew her pistol, several footsteps were approaching along with some voices.

"Looks like we hit the jackpot boss!"

"Hush yourself, we still don't know if it's been picked clean yet."

"But boss no one comes for these ships, not even the damn Resistance who goes by scrapes just to fight the Grimm."

"Ha, it's honestly funny that they think that they can fight let alone defeat them. Their armor is so strong our shots just bounce off."

"And yet they're still kicking and breathing." Another voice joined in.

She held her pistol up to her chest and prayed that they would just pass her, she waited for the footsteps to fade into the ship as she went for the exit. She ran from the ship and towards a small pile of wreckage where she hid her bike. She prayed that she still had time as she powered up her bike, soon after the ground trembled along with an explosion towards the back of the ship. Blake accelerated through the desert as the ship behind her erupted in flames, she didn't glance back to know that she was being pursued. One of the shuttles were following closely behind and by sound alone she knew that it was just a transport shuttle, not equipped with anything but engines. Even with her head start the shuttle was gaining on her and opened up one of the side doors.

"You wretch!" A scavenger called from the door as he raised his gun.

She pulled out her pistol and her other hand held the brakes, narrowly avoiding several shots from the shuttle. She fired a couple shots before the man fell out and spattered across the sandy plains. Blake fired a few more times before holstering her pistol and turning sharply right, underneath the shuttle. She gained some distance away from the pursuing craft until a bright blue beam flew above her and into the cockpit of the shuttle causing the burning debris to erupt into a small fireball behind her. Her mouth formed a small smile as she saw the black ship that flew past her, landing a couple of meters away.

"Did someone call the calvary?" A heavy voice went through the comms.

"Better late than never Tukson." She replied as she drove up the ramp that had extended. She passed through a small shield before parking her bike in the cargo hold. Blake took off her head scarf and let her goggles rest around her neck as she exited the cargo hold.

“Did you get the parts?” Tukson said as he greet her in the hallway.

She nodded as she held up the drive and the chip in each of her hands, “Here you go, one intact drive core and an advance targeting chip.”

He gave her a small grin as he took both of them and walked down the halls, “You should probably take a shower, you’d earned it.”

The walk towards the living quarters was short and the walk to the bathroom was shorter. She removed her scarf and goggles and left them on the counter as she looked into the mirror.

‘It’s almost over huh? After a couple more missions we can finally say goodbye to them’

Just before she started to undress herself her eyes wandered to the red insignia on the scarf. The familiar red wolf head of the White Fang.

-------

The city was bustling around this time of day, humans and Faunus alike walking down the streets while the black clad soldiers patrol the streets occasionally. She watched from above in one of the many buildings that overlooked main street adjusting her sunglasses with one hand while the other was on the grip of her sawed off shotgun on her hip. She brushed her golden hair away from her eyes as she heard the door open behind her.

“The boss wants to see you Xiao Long.” The man said as he gestured towards the door behind him.

She didn’t say anything as she entered with the door shutting behind her. She sat down in a small rectangular room with another woman sitting across from her.

“So I assume you know what I what?” Yang asked.

“Do you have a picture of her?” The other woman said.

She pulled out her scroll and pulled up a picture of woman in her thirties, it wasn’t an official picture but rather a drawn sketch.

The older woman snorted at the blonde as she looked at the picture, “Xiao Long you do realize that my contacts can’t go with this kind of knowledge.”

“And I was told you were the one who had a lead on her Gwen.” Lilac eyes shifted to red.

The black haired woman sighed before she spoke up, “Do you realize what you’re searching for? Yang Xiao Long, one of the best bounty hunters in the known universe, still hunting the top bounty that the Grimm are offering.”

“I have to find her Gwen, so do you have a lead or not.” She kept her voice stern.

“I got nothing, what do you expect? If the Grimm couldn’t find her after all these years what makes you the exception?”

“It’s personal.”

“Oum you insufferable- look if I do get a lead on her, you’re the first to know alright?”

Her eyes shifted back to their Lilac state as she stood up, “If you don’t, I’ll find you.”

…

Yang slumped against the wall in the lobby, she looked through the windows once more only to see the sky be covered with clouds and the sun wasn’t in sight. She sighed, this was getting her nowhere, she’s been on the search ever since her father got a lead on her whereabouts and since then she’s been on her own. She was broken out of her musings when she heard shouting behind her.

“What do you mean you’re quitting?!” A female shouted from across the room.

“We’re not taking the job, that’s that. Look the pay was nice but defending your escorts is too much for us.”

“Is that it? Is your band of mercenaries incompetent or something?!”

“Hey listen lady, just because your father is the head of Schnee Robotics doesn’t mean that you get to boss us around like we’re your underlings!”

“Your right, your already fired.” She said coldly, “That means I have no reason to talk to you miscrients any more, away with you.”

The man was furious as the white haired girl walked away from him. She went over to one of her pilots while Yang was watching the scene happen before her.

‘Wow, that was harsh… wait did he say Schnee?’

Yang closely examined the pilot’s uniform and saw the familiar logo on their shoulder, this was her break! The Schnee’s probably have contacts all around Remnant, maybe one of them have seen her. Before she knew it she was approaching the girl in white, the shorter girl took noticed and faced the blonde with a scowl present.

“What do you want?” The white haired girl said.

“I heard you were hiring. Thought you might need a hand.” Yang said with a small grin.

An audible sigh came from her, “What makes you think that you’ll qualify for the job?”

“Well you’re looking at one of the best pilots in the system, not to mention one of the best bounty hunters.” She said while pointing to herself.

"You're joking right?" She said while closely examining Yang.

Yang's face turned to a glare as her eyes shifted once more. "Really princess? You're down people right now, you sure you don't need any more help?"

"Ugh fine, however there is one last thing I want to check."

"Alright what is it?"

"You have a personal shield on right?" She said with a brow raised.

"Yeah, always on wherever I go. Wh-" Yang didn't have time to finish that sentence as she looked and stared right at a pistol barrel. A bright blue light engulfed her vision as a shot rang out. Yang didn't move as the shorter girl retract her pistol with an impressed look on her face.

"Wow, that's a surprise."

"What? How you employ people or how I haven't kill you yet because right now I'm just as surprised." Yang said with her hair slightly glowing,

"Hey if you can't take that shot then what makes you think that you can survive this line of work?"

"Well maybe it's because I do bounty hunting for a living Ice Queen."

The white haired girl took a step back with her mouth opened in shock, "How. Dare. You. Insult me you bumbling brute!"

"Make me you spoiled littl-"

Before the argument turned for the worst a cough caught both of their attention. They both turned towards a tan girl with a small blue beret on her head. She wore a light gray uniform with the Schnee logo on her shoulder.

"Miss Schnee, we need to depart soon. You know your father would want you back in Atlas Space as soon as possible." She said.

The white haired girl didn't hide her unamused sigh as she turned towards the blonde, "Alright then, we depart in three hours. Meet us at these coordinates otherwise you won't get paid."

"Okay, but instead of money I want something else."

"And that is?"

"Information, now then I'll see you in a couple of hours." Yang waved them off as she headed towards the exit with a small smile, happy with knowing that she was one step closer to finding her older sister.

-------

"Are you sure about this Blake? We can always find another job to do." Velvet said as both of them stared at the monitors. The nav beacon pointed towards a desolate moon near the Mantle System, towards the far outskirts of known territory.

"I'll be fine Velvet, it's not like I haven't been in a blizzard before." Blake was adjusting her helmet as she was talking with the bunny Faunus, "Besides since it's far out, not a lot of scavengers would come there."

"That's not the point Blake, we're doing this so all of us can leave the White Fang. That was the deal, they gave us a contract with a relic of a ship and we fulfill it and leave."

"Exactly, if we can find some valuable parts there then the sooner we can leave th-"

"All of us Blake, Tukson and I don't want to lose you over this just so that we can speed up the process and-"

"I'll be fine Velvet," She slipped on her helmet and rechecked the filters. Satisfied she attached the heating unit to her suit and began to walk towards the ramp in the cargo bay. "How much longer do I have until the blizzard hits?"

A short pause came before the next transmission, "If I'm correct you'll have about four hours otherwise you'll spend the next six underneath snow."

"Noted, mark the objective on my hud I'm heading out."

The moment the ship landed, the ramp extended and Blake flew out onto the surface. A couple of minutes passed when she was in sight of the downed cruiser, half the ship was buried in snow while the other stuck out of the land like a stick in the mud. She pulled her bike into the broken hanger, sheltering it from the falling snow. She scoured most of the ship, grabbing chips or any useful parts that could be sold. It didn't take her long to search the whole ship and back, holding a satchel full of parts and useable components. She pulled out her scanner one last time to double check the whole ship and was satisfied that nothing came up. She secured the bag on her bike and check her timer.

'Two hours left huh, must be getting faster'

In an instant she rode out into the snowy moon towards the extraction point, accelerating through the white washed world as the snow fell around her. She was almost there until she felt her scanner go off, the signal was small but noticeable on the screen. The blip was on the edge of her screen but it was in the direction of where she was heading. She looked back at her timer before deciding on going to the blip, she enough time to spare anyway. She soon came up on a small ravine in the ground, it lead towards a small cave where she left her bike and ventured further. The cave kept on going in a straight line until she was in a pitch black room, she ignited her blade and examined the room that she was in. It wasn't fairly big but one thing did stand out, towards the back of the cave was the remains of a small fighter. The model seemed old and most of the ship was missing, both the wings were torn, the engines were missing, and the cockpit and midsection of the fighter were still intact.

'What is this?'

She seen her fair share of fighters and ships but she never saw anything like this before, it seemed ancient but yet advanced in it's own way. Not to mention the closer she got to the cockpit she felt a shiver down her spine. She checked her heating unit to see if it was damaged but it was intact, her eyes went back to the cockpit as she got closer. The windows were fogged and were frozen shut against the ship, she went over to the midsection of the fighter and pulled off the panel holding it. Her eyes went wide when she saw the interior, the fighter's power cell was still functional and it seems that the fighter's life support was still online. She circled back towards the cockpit and tried to see through the fog that was obscuring the view. She could barely make out the figure sitting inside but she could tell that they were still breathing by the fog forming in the front of their helmets. She looked at the timer and saw that she had less than a hour left, she glanced back towards the ship and took in it's measurements.

'If we're lucky it can fit inside the cargo bay'

She went to her comms and hailed Velvet, "Hey change of plans."

A worried voice took over the comms, "Wh- what's wrong? Did something bad happened?"

"No, I'm perfectly fine but I need your help."

"Okay, what do you need?"

"I'm sending you the coordinates of where I'm at, have Tukson prep the laser cutters."

"Wait are you underground? Are you stuck?!"

"No Velvet, I found something interesting but I can't bring it to the ship alone."

"Alright we're on route, hang tight."

Blake cut the comms as she went to fetch her bike, it didn't take her long to her the ship approaching above her. A loud crack was heard above her as she saw a large metal hook punch through the ice, soon after several orange lasers flashed around her and formed a square around her and the fighter. The icy roof was pulled upwards and light flooded the room, Blake was greeted with the sight of the familiar black ship as it landed as close as possible to the ravenette. Tukson ran from the extended ramp and attached hooks onto the wreckage, Blake went and did the same after she pulled her bike onto the ship. The gears turned as it dragged the ship onto the ramp. Blake was walking with Tukson when her timer went off, she glanced down and read the warning before she started to bolt into the cargo hold with Tukson following behind her. The ship shook as the blizzard struck, the fighter was almost secured in the cargo hold while Velvet kept the ship from being knocked from the sky. As soon as the fighter was in completely, Blake hit the door closing the ramp and airlock while Velvet spun up the engines flying out of the oncoming storm. As the stealth ship entered orbit Velvet turned on the artificial gravity and auto pilot so that she could see what Blake had brought in.

Velvet ran out from the bridge and found both Blake and Tukson slumping against the wall with their eyes on the fighter before them.

"Hey Tukson, do you have any idea what model that is?" Blake said with out looking away.

"Haven't seen it before, do you think that it's ancient?" Velvet joined in.

Tukson remained quiet but kept his eyes on the spacecraft, he shook his head to see if it was real and sighed as he confirmed it. "It's an old model, they decommissioned these models after the Great War seventeen years ago."

"If they were part of the war then what's one doing all the way out here? Didn't the battles occur towards the far side of Remnant in Haven's space?" Velvet asked.

Tukson nodded in reply as he stood up, "Blake, is it still salvageable?"

"Yeah, and the pilot's alive too."

Both Faunus looked at her with wide eyes, Tukson was the first to speak up, "Are you sure? I know being frozen can slow down the body and all but for more than ten years? I'm not certain that the person could even walk straight."

"Yeah Blake, didn't you remember what happened to Saber? He went into Cyrosleep for a day as a test and didn't regain consciousness after three days."

Blake nodded her head as she stood up, "I'm certain, besides if they do wake up... well I'll deal with it when I cross that bridge."

"Okay, I still need to repair the side thrusters. Velvet get back to the bridge, Blake can handle this on her own."

"But Tukson, what if they attack Blake when they wake up?"

He chuckled slightly, "I pretty sure that Blake can handle a waling popsicle."

With that he disappeared into the maintenance shaft as Velvet gave a worried look to Blake before returning to the bridge. Blake stood there in silence as she gazed at the cockpit, she went over to the power cell and hesitantly decided on her choice.

'What if Velvet was right? What if they attack us? What if they're criminals or-' She shook her head from these thoughts as she grabbed the wires.

'Alright here goes nothing' Was all she had in her head as she disconnected the power to the coolant systems.

Chapter Text

As the power was severed the entire fighter began to power down, the navigation computer went blank and the cockpit opened itself up. A cloud of white fog exited the cockpit onto the floor, sending chills up her spine. She got a better look of the pilot inside, they were wearing a black and red suit with their helmet still obscured by the fog inside. She saw how clumped the cockpit was put together, several screens surrounded the pilot with a monitor hanging off on top with handles on either side of it.

'How can they manage all of this?'

She was already getting confused by all of the gadgets in front of her, she barely registered the groan that came from the pilot. By the pitch and the tone of their voice she knew that they were female, but what she couldn't understand was why they were so young. For a second she saw a flash of light through the visor, her hand went to her holstered pistol as she saw the pilot beginning to move. Her free hand went to her comms as she called for either one of them.

"Hey, I thought you said that they were unconscious?!" Her eyes didn't leave the female pilot as they tried to stand up.

"What are you talking about, they don't wake up immediately Blake. They need a couple of days for their body to be adjusted back to normal."

'Oh shit this isn't good'

"Tukson, Velvet get armed, the pilot is already waking up and if I think I know what it is-"

"Wait, it's Grimm?" Tukson joined in.

Blake didn't answer back as she aimed towards the young girl. She saw the light flicker through the helmet again and tightened the grip on her pistol. The younger pilot stumbled out of her ship and landed on the floor with a loud thud, she kept reaching for her helmet trying desperately to get it off. Blake heard footsteps behind her and briefly glanced behind. Tukson had his Saiga-12 at the ready while Velvet had her PSM pistol held up. They all watched her struggle until she ripped off her helmet, tossing it across the cargo bay as she was gasping for air.

Blake kept her gun trained on her until she took off her helmet revealing her face, she was younger than she thought but she had short brown hair with red highlights and a pair of bright silver eyes. She thought it was her imagination when she first saw them but they appeared to glow. The crimsonette was coughing up fluids as she stayed on the floor with her arms holding her up. Seconds felt like minutes until she looked up towards the three Faunus, although her eyes were still glowing Blake saw unfocused they were as she stared straight at her. The silver eyed girl stood up on shaky legs and kept her eyes on Blake, breaking the silence as she spoke up.

“K-Kali?” Was all she said as she lost consciousness on her feet.

She felt her blood race when she heard that name, one that she hasn't heard ever since she left a long time ago.

Blake dropped her pistol and rushed forward before the younger girl crumbled to the ground, catching her without hesitation. Her mind was racing as she looked at the unconscious girl in her arms, she had question after question that can answered by the crimsonette.

“Blake?” Velvet asked quietly, for all the time she knew her friend she never mentioned anything about her parents nonetheless freak out like that. Even Tukson noticed how different Blake was acting, he already holstered his shotgun but looked at the ravenette with concern. Blake stood up carrying the girl in her arms and turned towards the bunny Faunus.

“Velvet can you prep the Med Bay?”

“Are you sure Blake? We don’t know if she's hostile let alone trusted right now.”

“She's right Blake, that thing woke up from Cryosleep straight away as if it was just normal.” Tukson kept his distance from the young pilot.

“That thing knows something about my mother, and my family doesn't have the best history with human friends. If my mother was friends with her, I can trust her.” Blake stated.

Both the Faunus looked hesitantly at her until they nodded in agreement. Velvet went to prepare the Med Bay as Tukson stayed back to talk with Blake.

“You’re in charge of her, if she causes trouble it's on you.” Was all he said as he disappeared into the maintenance shaft.

She watched the bigger man leave, then slowly made her way towards the Med Bay carrying the crimsonette in a bridal position. She didn’t know what she was walking into but she was sure as hell to see it through.

-------

Yang stared from her seat into the vastness of space, she checked her fuel gauge and scanned her weapons system until her transmission went live.

“I see you kept your word.” A familiar voice went through the comms.

“Hey, a Xiao Long never goes back on their word. I didn’t get a name from earlier you know.”

“My apologies, my name is Ciel. I am Miss Schnee’s assistant.” She kept her voice in a never changing monotone.

“Right, I’m Yang. Just a quick question but is your boss always this… bitchy?”

She heard a small chuckle go through the comms, “Sometimes, although I wouldn’t put it past you if you hate her for that.”

“It’s fine, I could put up with it as long as she doesn’t start screaming into my ears every five seconds, where’s our destination?”

“Our destination is the Anima system, where we are suppose to link up with General Ironwood’s fleet. From there we head towards Shion station where we drop off our shipments.”

Yang let out a small whistle as she saw the fleet come into view. “Damn, didn’t know the Ice Queen had a dreadnought.”

“One of the finest ships the Atlas Navy has to offer, the Spectre.” Ciel said with a bit of pride in her voice.

“It’s massive… but can it hold itself in a fight?” Yang recalled how weak most of them were.

“We had- some odds and ends back then but to answer your question yes, the Spectre can defend itself when the situation arises.”

“Really? Well can’t wait to se-”

“Ciel! Are you talking with that brute?” Another familiar voice went over the comms.

“Yes ma’am, do you need something?”

“Tell her to dock her ship on deck seventeen, we are about to jump soon.”

“Right away,” There was a slight pause until Ciel spoke up again, “My apologies Yang, please have your ship dock on deck seventeen.”

She looked outside once more, noticing a large door open up from underneath the dreadnought, “Wow, do you do this for all of your escorts?"

"Yes, most ships can't keep up with the FTL drive so we store smaller ships onto various docks until we're attacked."

"Wouldn't that cause a delay for launching ships?" Yang began to pull her Frigate into the docking bay.

“Our shields can hold until the ships are launched, we’re not that delicate as you think you bumbling oaf.” Another voice interrupted the conversation.

“And the Diva has returned,” Yang muttered under her breath, “Alright, docking in three, two, and-”

Yang felt the mag locks activate as her ship trembled around her. She stood up from her seat and made her way towards the airlock.

“Zw3i power down the ship.” She said and waited a second before exited the airlock and onto the Spectre. Yang took a step back as she was greeted with the sight of the interior. The halls were wide with several workers moving about, all donned in the pure white uniforms. She felt off with her armor on as a couple of workers eyed her as they passed by.

“Ah Miss Xiao Long this way.” Ciel called her over from across the halls.

Yang quickly made her way towards the tan girl, she was thankful for a familiar face in a place like this. “Hey Ciel, um where are we going?”

“Miss Schnee assigned you your quarters, she expects you to answer her calls.”

“With what? We didn’t exactly exchanged numb-” She was interrupted midway as Ciel held a scroll in her face. She took the scroll and pocketed it.

“Thanks.” Was all she muttered.

Ciel didn’t say anything for the remainder of the walk. Yang was baffled by the sight of her quarters. The room was all white with a window towards the back, there was a large bed on the far right of the room with a bathroom attached towards the left. Ciel added the room code on her scroll and left the blonde in her room, she dropped her bag off to the side of the bed and unstrapped her chestpiece. She finished taking off her armor when her scroll buzzed.

“Hello?” Yang said.

“I take it you found your quarters?”

“It’s like a hotel room, jeez how much money did you pour into this ship?”

“Enough. Briefing starts in two hours, I expect to see you there.”

“Yeah, yeah I'll see you- wait what’s your name again?”

An audible sigh was heard through the scroll, “My name is Weiss, you best not to forget that you brute.”

“Right thanks.” She clicked off her scroll and threw it off to the side as she swan dive onto her bed. This trip has gotten a lot more interesting.

-------

She didn't know how long she was out, her eyelids felt heavy as she tried to open them. The first thing that she was aware of was the sound of a heart monitor going off to the side of her and the sound of muttering in the background. She tried to open her eyes again with no avail, she sighed in defeat as she laid there. The sigh however didn't go unnoticed by the two Faunus who in the same room. Blake and Velvet stopped their conversation all together as they looked at the crimsonette, it hasn't been a whole two hours since they had her hooked up to an IV and the heart monitor and yet she's already waking up.

"What do you think she is?" Velvet whispered.

"I don't know, I haven't heard of a human nor a faunus recovering this fast before."

"What about her eyes?"

"If I knew I would tell you, as of right now I'm clueless as you are."

"I mean they were glowing right? Please tell me you saw them glowing too." Velvet asked for confirmation.

"I did, I thought that they were-"

"Disturbing? Unnatural? Freaky? Yeah... that's the usual response." A new voice joined in.

Both faunus were startled by the girl as the crimsonette tried to sit upright but failed in doing so causing her to plop back onto the bed. Her eyes cracked open and closed immediately from the harsh light. When her eyes finally adjusted to the room she looked towards the two with a wide grin.

"Hi."

The bunny faunus froze in place but Blake approached the younger girl cautiously. "U-um, hey?"

"I know this is a weird question to ask but who are you?" She tilted her head.

The ravenette looked at her hesitantly before answering, "I'm Blake, and this is Velvet."

The brown haired girl took a step when her name was mentioned, "If you don't mind me asking but- are you human?"

"What else would I be? I don't have a tail if that's what you're implying."

"No it's just, you've been asleep for god knows how long and you just shrug it off as if you just had a nap."

"What do you mean? My ship just malfunctioned and just jumped randomly, speaking of which what system are we in?"

"We're in the Mantle System, and what do you mean by your ship?" Blake said with a brow raised.

"Mantle? Where's that?" She raised her own brow as she tried to sit upright once more.

"Mantle is in Vacuo Space, it was discovered nineteen years ago."

"What? I've never heard of it... wait what's today?!"

"Today is Fransday the eleventh, 3067."

"You're joking right?" She looked at both of them with pleading eyes. She felt her heart sank as they both shook their heads. "Bu-but what about The Alliance?!"

"They were hunted down after the defeat in the Wind Path System, the Grimm captured them later at the Battle Of Beacon. Since then only small groups of people rose up against them but they never last long."

She sank into her bed as she stared at the ceiling, "So we failed huh?"

Silence engulfed the room as neither one of them spoke up. Eventually Velvet stepped out leaving them both, Blake waited a couple more minutes before she walked towards the door.

"Blake was it?" Blake froze at the mention of her name. She reluctantly turned to face the crimsonette who looked right back at her, "What will you do with me now?"

"I don't know, once you're fully recovered we'll find out. I promise you we won't harm you while you rest." With that she took her leave, leaving the younger pilot in the room alone.

Ruby looked out towards the window towards the vastness of space with dull eyes. She looked down to her hands as she concentrated, she saw her aura flare for a second before disappearing altogether. She tried once more with no avail, feeling nothing as she concentrated for that familiar feeling but couldn't grasp it. She sighed as she laid defeated once more in her bed, gazing out into the darkness of space.

'First this and now I lost my powers, and to top it all off I don't even know what to do'

She looked back at her hands once more before deciding, she threw off her covers in haste as she left the Med Bay.

-------

He sat in the white room in silence as he gazed about. He knew that he was being watched despite being powerless in this cell. He cupped his black eye as he slumped against the wall. He didn't even bat an eye as the door opened knowing full well of who entered.

"It's time you filthy mongrel, get up."

The older man did as he was told and followed the black haired woman out of the room, he passed by many cells that held fellow soldiers of the once mighty Alliance. Two guards followed closely behind them as they marched through the dark halls towards the direction. They eventually arrived at a pair of two massive doors, the two guards took a couple of steps back as the doors hissed when they'd opened. The doors led into a large chamber, one with a massive window that revealed the asteroids that surrounded the station with a dark-clad woman standing in the center gazing outwards.

"Leave us." Was all she said without turning around.

The two guards bowed as they took their leave, the one woman stayed in the room but made herself small in one of the corners. As the doors closed she turned to face the man with her blue glowing eyes illuminating in the dark.

"Ozpin, you already know that your efforts are futile." She said, her face betrayed any emotions, "Tell me where they are before I'll end their lives in the most painful way possible."

The white haired man chuckled as he looked at the mechanical monster in front of him, "If my efforts were pointless, then you would've found them without trying to interrogate me."

Cold calculating eyes stared back at bronze, "And we will, it's only a matter of time until we snuff them out. Your 'Resistance' have their days numbered, the Schnees are under our control, the White Fang don't even realize that they're living in the past, and those pesky bandits don't have what it takes to take on one of our ships. So tell me Ozpin, what chance do you have against me ?"

" They will defeat you, not me.”

There was a brief pause until her eyes flickered in recognition and a small smile crept onto her face, “Ah yes, the silver eye warriors. The once proud soldiers you once had are nothing more than legends at this point. My armies offed several already alongside their families. Face it you old fool, you lost.”

“Maybe, but we haven’t lost yet Salem.”

“Cinder, take him to the interrogation room. I have some business to discuss with Tyrian.”

“As you wish, your grace.” Cinder bowed once more as she escorted the white haired man out leaving Salem alone in the room.

She waited for a Seer to arrive and projected a holographic display, shortly after a black haired faunus appeared at the screen.

“Ah! Your grace, what may I be of assistance?” He bowed.

“What’s the progress of your hunt Tyrian?”

“My fleet has caught another Resistance group, we traced the rest of their fleet towards Atlas Space.”

“Good, any leads on the last of the silver eyes?”

“Negative,” He lowered himself in fear of angering her, “We’ve found nothing on the girl from back then.”

“Hm, keep me updated if you find anything. She’s bound to reveal herself eventually, twenty years she kept herself hidden it’s only a matter of time when we’ll find her or her kin.”

“As you wish your grace.” Tyrian bowed once more before the transmission was cut.

Salem walked back towards the window and stared out towards the asteroids once more. Her goal was in reach, and she wouldn’t be stopped now.

Chapter Text

Tukson wiped his brow as he emerged from the maintenance shaft. He felt relieved as he managed to fix the problem with the energy distribution throughout parts of the ship. What he didn't expect was to see a certain ebony haired girl waiting for him as he came out.

"Um, can I help you-"

"Have you seen her?"

He raised a brow in confusion until his eyes flicked in recognition, "You mean the pilot? Wasn't she still in the Med Bay?"

Blake shook her head, "I went to fetch her something to eat but she wasn't in her bed when I came by, did you see her by any chance?"

"No I didn't, I don't think she came down to the maintenance shaft."

"Tsk, alright thanks Tukson." And with that she turned and walked down the hallway.

'What if she found a way off the ship? No, the escape pods would have alerted either me or Velvet. What if she's wandering the ship?'

Blake took a sharp turn into the cargo bay, her eyes were caught by the scattered pieces laid out on the floor with a familiar shade of red on top of the remains of her ship.

"Oh hey Blake!" The crimsonette jumped down from on top of the ship and waved over with her free hand, soon after she began to cut open a section of the ship using a hand saw.

"You're supposed to be resting." She said as she made her way over all the scattered tech. "What are you even doing?"

"I'm salvaging what's left of my ship, I thought that you guys might need some parts for your own." The young pilot pulled out a weird cylinder with a coil surrounding it.

"But why?" The cat faunus eyed her suspiciously.

"Isn't it obvious? I want to join your crew." She said as she faced her.

Blake took a moment to process what she had said or if her imagination was playing a trick on her, "You want to... join us?"

The short crimsonette stopped what she was doing and turned to face the raven haired girl, her face was full of worry and she bowed in a apologetic fashion, "I-I mean if it's okay with you and all and itsokayifyoudeclineImeanthatyouprobablywouldntwantsomeonelikemeandallan-"

"No-no! It's just, why do you want to join a bunch of rag tag scavengers?" She cut off her rambling.

She paused for a moment to think, shortly after she looked directly into her eyes as she answered, "I have nowhere else to go, besides it looks like you can get all the help you need."

"What do you mean by that? We've been fine by ourselves for years." Blake crossed her arms and stared towards her.

Ruby peaked her head from out of her ship as she gazed towards the taller girl, "I mean your ship is barely holding itself together with its patch work and all, most of the equipment on board seems to be outdated if it's very similar to the technology I have on my ship, and it doesn't seem that you're really saving up for yourself. Are you paying off a debt or something?"

Blake froze in shock, how the younger girl knew what they were doing was completely unexpected but to know how bad their conditions were was also surprising as she hasn't even been on board for more than a day. "We are paying off a debt, but we're doing fine-"

"If 'doing fine' has you in this condition then I scared to find out what happens when you're not." The silver eyed girl muttered as she went back to taking apart her ship. This however didn't go unheard by the faunus from across the room, her ears perked up as she heard that comment. She strode across the room and stood behind the crimsonette.

"And do you have a better option?" Blake kept her emotions in check but her eyes radiated anger towards the shorter girl.

"In a matter of fact I do, but I'm not sure if you're willing to consider it."

"We've faced tougher scrapes than you can believe."

"Really now?" Ruby pulled out a familiar revolver from one of the storage containers from her ship, "Because if we're successful, you could pay off that debt and still have a lot of spending money afterwards."

"Alright, what is this challenge? Raiding a Schnee ship? Looting a bandit camp?"

"Nah," Ruby looked at Blake with determined eyes, "We're attacking the Grimm."

-------

"T-minus one minute until we're out of FTL ma'am."

Weiss stood at the bridge watching over her crew members as the ship began to slip from FTL. The ship shook as they powered down the FTL drive, most of the workers paid no heed to the sudden vibration as they continued to monitor the surrounding area and the internal systems. Satisfied Weiss walked towards the navigation table as she rechecked the route until Ciel caught her attention.

"Miss Schnee, all of them are assembled in the briefing room."

"Thank you Ciel, inform Captain Port to watch over the bridge until I return." She said as she stepped out onto the halls. The walk was relatively short as she stood in front of the door, a quick swipe from her scroll opened the door and revealed the small room with a table in the center with multiple people surrounding it.

"Ah, commander on deck!" One of them saluted her as she entered.

Several workers saluted as the ship captains just glanced at her.

“At ease,” She walked towards the table as she faced everyone. “As all of you know, you’ve been hired to protect the Spectre from bandits, however the situation has changed.”

“What does that mean eh?” A heavy accent was heard across the table.

“Some of my contacts had just contacted us, we’ll be changing course and taking a detour through a different system.”

“Oi! What gives? We can handle a couple more ships if that’s what you’re worried about.” A female pilot slammed her hands on the table.

“Our pursuers are the White Fang.”

The entire room went quiet, some of their eyes went wide as a few kept their poker faces up.

Weiss pulled out her scroll and inserted in the table, “The White Fang were sighted near the Stratus System, where we were suppose to jump after our engines have recycled. It’s safe to assume that they’re preparing an ambush once we come out of FTL.”

“So we’re taking a detour? What makes you think that they didn’t plan this all out so that they can ambush us at a different location?” Yang spoke up.

“We’ll go through the Omila Pass, given the circumstances we should be able to pass through Grimm space.”

The room was filled with silence once more, all eyes were on the white haired girl as she stared at them in confusion.

“What?”

“Did you just realize what you just said?” Yang gave her a perplex look.

“Yes?” Weiss tried to recall what she had said wrong, “The White Fang wouldn’t risk crossing Grimm space an-”

“Yeah, Grimm space as in if we cross the damn border we’ll be killed on the spot.”

“Grimm don’t travel this close to the border, if anything they should be patrolling closer to stations or colonies.”

“And what if they don’t? We’ll be caught out in space without an escape plan.”

"It's better than being caught in a trap, unlike the White Fang they won't expect us-"

Alarms blared as crew members began to run down the halls, the lights shifted to blue as a voice came to life on the intercom.

"All hands battlestations! This is not a drill, I repeat this is not a drill-"

Everyone in the room snapped to attention as Weiss changed the holographic projection into a grid with the Spectre in the center. Smaller blimps entered the grid from the top left and right.

"Captain Port, status?!" Weiss called from her comms.

"Ma'am several ships just came out of FTL, they'd ignored our warnings and are almost in torpedo range."

"Have the Spectre ready for combat, prep the torpedo salvos and charge up the rail guns."

"Yes ma'am." With that he cut the comms.

Weiss turned her attention back to the people in the room as the alarms continued to blare. "Everyone to their stations, I want ships out there on the field. We need to stall for time until the FTL drive is done resetting before we can jump."

"Roger," The room echoed.

"Xiao Long, Fixer, and Luma I want all of you on standby everyone else get to your ships." Several heads nodded as they left the room, the blonde however stepped up to the white haired girl.

“Send me out.” She said

“I can’t, if we have more ships out there it will take longer for us to gather them for evacuation.” Weiss turned to walk out the door but stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Miss Schnee, you’re needed on the bridge.” Ciel said.

“Understood,” She stepped out of the room with the tan girl following closely behind as several pilots ran past them to their posts.

…

“Torpedos launched, scratch one bogey.”

“Enemy ships scanned, two Corvettes, one Destroyer, and two Freighters.”

“Several fighters closing in, spinning up PDC.”

“Our escorts had just launched-”

“Raising forward shields. Activating rail guns."

Weiss kept her eyes on the grid as she blocked out all the commotion around her. The Spectre was almost in firing range as the red blimps got closer to the dreadnought. "How much longer until the torpedoes are ready to fire?"

"Loading up salvos six to ten, firing..."

The Spectre shook from the shot as the missiles accelerated towards the enemy ships, bright flashes of light erupted in the darkness of space.

"Confirmed, torpedoes seven and nine hit. Enemy Corvette destroyed."

"Ma'am, the enemy launched a counterattack. Torpedoes approaching starboard side in t-minus forty seconds-"

"Firing PDCs," Even from the bridge Weiss saw the trail of lights spewing out of the gatling guns, several bright lights exploded in the distance as a cloud of blue engulfed her vision. Soon afterwards all the screens on the bridge began to fritz as the view was still obscured by the smoke. Commotion rang out as everyone tried to understand the situation.

"Systems are malfunctioning, restoring power to main systems."

"Scanner just went dark, getting a lot of interference over here."

"Weapon systems are rebooting, monitors should be up in three-"

The smoke dissipated along with the interference, screens flickered back to life as the enemy fleet was nowhere in sight.

'Where could have they gone-' Weiss held on the railing as the ship shook from impact. "Status report!"

"Ma'am port side took a hit from an enemy rail gun, we got those freighters alongside our ship."

The screen flickered as it showed the two freighters were dangerously close to the side of the Spectre.

"Are there any PDCs available?" Weiss made her way to one of the consoles looking at the screen.

"Negative I think they'r- wait... ma'am they've got boarding pods! Enemy freighter is launching bordering pods!"

Weiss watched the cargo containers detached from the freighters and shot grappling hooks onto the side hull. A couple turrets went online and began firing towards the pods, the spray of lights tore apart a couple pods missing only two that embedded onto the side.

“I want units thirty three and five to suppress them until reinforcements arrive,” Weiss pulled out her small pistol and made her way towards the door. “Ciel what decks did they board?”

“They’re on deck seventeen and eighteen.” Ciel followed suit and pulled out her own pistol.

“Wait, isn’t Yang’s ship on deck seventeen?!” She picked up her pace as several guards followed behind the two.

…

Yang propped her legs up as she waited for the go signal from her scroll. Another vibration shook her ship, she kept eyeing her scroll and glancing in between the screen and the main window. She threw her head back in boredom as she pocketed her scroll.

‘This sucks, just when I thought this was going to be interesting’

She sat there until she heard a loud hissing sound, she turned towards the source and saw sparks flying off her airlock.

“What the-” She sat straight up and activated her shield, she pulled her shotguns from her holster and stood a couple feet from the door. “Zw3i open the airlock on my mark.”

She aimed down towards the airlock as the sparks almost finished cutting through the lock.

“Now!” She pre-fired the door before it opened up completely catching a couple intruders by surprise. Three soldiers fell to the ground as the other fired on the blonde. Yang hid to the side of the door and occasionally fired into the cramped airlock. Sparks flew next to her as she hid, her shotgun bellowed plasma towards the enemy.

She heard her gun click and pulled out an energy cartridge and reloaded as they continuously fired at her.

‘Alright here goes nothing’

“Zw3i, sick ‘em!” She shouted.

Soon afterwards the top hatch above her pulled back as a turret emerged. The turret spun up and fired a hail of lasers at the intruders, screams and shouts echoed from the airlock until the silence swept in. Yang stepped out into the airlock with her gun raised, there were corpses scattered around in various positions all riddled with burns.

“Good job boy, watch the ship until I get back.” Yang shouted as she closed the airlock. The halls were covered in ash as she looked around, part of the wall looked out of place as she walked past it. She kept her gun up as she slowly proceeded through the dark halls, bodies were strewed across the floor some donned white uniforms while the other wore black and red. Yang stopped as she heard people approaching, she hid off to the side as she waited for the pursuers to come into view.

“Lieutenant, what’s the situation?” A familiar voice was heard from her hiding spot.

“Ma’am several Fangs retreated down towards the docking bay, most likely trying to get an escape craft in case things go south. The others were intercepted by the Elysium Knights just a couple klicks from here.”

“Alright let's go, the sooner we rid of these intruders the faster we can leave.”

“Hey, wait up!” A couple guns were raised at the blonde as she stepped out. “Woah woah woah, same team.”

The blonde raised her both hands up defensively, the group of soldiers hesitantly lowered their arms as Weiss stepped out towards her.

“What are you doing here?! You’re supposed to be back on your ship!” The white haired girl shouted.

“Hey chill princess, I just came out here to see what was going on.”

“What about your ship, what if they hijacked it?!”

“Don’t sweat it, I have Zw3i watching it for me.”

“Zwei?” Weiss cocked a brow.

“I’ll tell you later, in the meantime you said that there’s another group upahead?”

Weiss’s face turned into one of annoyance, “I’ve already sent Ciel and another team to deal with them, we were suppose to deal with the group that was on this deck.”

"Oh... if that's the case let's go help Ciel."

"Wha- did you not hear what I just said you brute?!"

"I did, that's why I said that." Yang turned towards the hallway until she was pulled back by the arm.

"And what do you mean by that?!"

She yanked her arm away and ran down the corridor, ignoring the shouts from the angry girl behind her. Yang ran through the halls keeping both her shotguns to her chest. She can already hear the gunfire as she got closer, a closed door stood before her and Ciel's team. She pushed a button on her belt as she continued, her shield flared for a moment before she pulled back her right arm and punched the door enveloping the room in a bright light.

...

"Cover fire! Don't let them gain an inch!" Ciel fired down the corridor, taking occasional shots as she pressed her back against the little cover that she had. Her team caught the White Fang in a narrow corridor that provided little to no cover for either of them. Ciel had the door behind them closed so that they were trapped with them in the hallway. Bright yellow lasers flew past her head as she traded a couple shots back, catching one of them by surprise.

"Lieutenant, Richard and Davis are wounded. We're losing men out here!"

"We have to hold out until reinforcements arrive!" Ciel shouted over the gunfire. She already lost more than half her squad before the battle dragged on, they were met with a large number of soldiers who quickly overwhelmed their forces.

"Gah!" A soldier went down as he clutched his chest, he was pulled off to the side as another soldier pulled him away. She silently cursed to herself, they were losing ground and the enemy knew of it as they pressed forward. Sparks flew above her head as she ducked for cover, she was running low on cartridges and men. Ciel was about to call for retreat when the door behind the White Fang exploded, debris scattered about as the room was engulfed in a bright light. Ciel ducked as she clutched her pistol, the sound of the explosion was soon followed by a loud crackling sound and the sound of bodies dropping. She looked from her cover only to see a familiar mame of yellow flickering through the smoke.

Yang ran through the destroyed door, already spotting several White Fang soldiers as she passed the ruined door frame. She didn't hesitate as she blasted those that she snuck up on. A couple noticed her and began firing, her shield took the brunt of the attack as she ducked for cover. She waited before vaulting over her cover spraying those who were unfortunate enough to be in front of her, her stride didn't break as she charged down the hallway.

Ciel watched the blonde charge through the enemy's rear, she took the opportunity and began picking off the soldiers who were focused on the charging girl. A few of her soldiers followed suit and took out the remaining Fangs. Caught in between two forces, the White Fang was easily disorganized as they were getting more and more desperate. Without any warning Yang hurled herself towards the remaining intruders as her shield flared up from incoming fire, she shot one square in the chest and another in the back of the head as Ciel’s team closed the distance between them. The last body dropped to the floor with smoke hissing off their chestplate, dropping their rifle to the side as they hit the ground. Yang holstered her shotguns and brushed her hair from her face, she leaned against a nearby wall to support her weight as a couple of soldier were checking the bodies for survivors. She didn’t even bat an eye towards the sound of footsteps approaching followed by the sound of a very angry girl.

“Xiao Long you have one minute to explain yourself before I have terminate the contract!” Weiss stomped towards the blonde bounty hunter with a scowl present on her face.

She was about to retort but Ciel joined in the conversation. “Permission to speak freely Ma’am?”

Weiss eyed her in confusion before answering, “Permission granted.”

The tan girl saluted before continuing, “If it wasn’t for her help I don’t believe that we would’ve made out alive. Miss Xiao Long’s actions had saved our lives and I’m willing to accept any punishments that fall on her as my own.”

The blue haired girl lowered her head in response, leaving both girls stunned where they stood. Weiss was the first to recover from the initial shock and cleared her throat.

“Very well, I trust your word Ciel.” She turned to face the blonde with her scowl changed to an apologetic look, “And thank you- for saving them Yang.”

“I-it was no problem Weiss.” Yang scratched the back of her head nervously, she wasn’t used to getting praise let alone by the Ice Queen herself.

“Captain Port, is the FTL drive ready yet?” Weiss went onto her comms.

“Yes Miss Schnee, all remaining escorts have docked and are waiting on your order."

The ship shook from another impact, she silently prayed that they wouldn't follow them when they jumped, "Prepare to jump at the previously arranged coordinates, the White Fang wouldn't follow us in Grimm Space."

"Aye Ma'am." The comms were cut shortly after.

"Wait you were serious about going into Grimm Space?!" Yang panicked, she shot the shorter girl a terrified look while Weiss looked back with a confused look.

Her question went unanswered as the ship into FTL, jumping into the darkness of space.

-------

Tukson was walking back and forth in his small cabin as Blake sat down in one of the chairs staring straight up to the ceiling. She told him everything that the short pilot had told her previously, the only difference was that the male faunus was furious about the whole situation.

"I can't believe it, take down a Grimm ship let alone think about fighting one. I swear that she's insane." He kept his tone in control, although his expression told everything that wasn't said.

"I'll admit the plan sounds... ridiculous but she did provide some good points. If we do pull this off we can pay off the debt and keep most of the profits to ourselves." Blake replied.

"If we can pull this off, I mean come on Blake all we have are a couple of PDCs, one railgun, and two torpedo salvos, against a Grimm ship that has the state of the art technology that can rip apart our ship in seconds." He retorted.

Blake stayed quiet trying to think of an answer, Tukson resumed his rant before she could however.

"I mean come on, I'm grateful that she fixed a couple of systems for us but taking on the greatest force in Remnant is just absurd."

Their conversation was cut short as the door hissed open with a familiar bunny faunus standing at the door frame.

"Um, Blake? She wants to see you."

Blake looked at Tukson with a brow raised to which he responded with a shrug, she got up from her seat and made her way to the crimsonette in the Cargo Bay. She found her next to her broken ship on a terminal that was hooked up to the ship's main console. She noticed something different from the girl as she got closer, before she had a chilling presence that would send shivers up her spine but now she approached her without any indication that she was any different than a normal human. The only noticeable difference that she could spot was that she was wearing a weird glove with a bracelet connect to the end of it and that her eyes were no longer glowing but rather a dark silver.

"You wanted to see me?" She asked nervously, she wasn't sure if she talking to the same person or if she was talking to a projection.

The younger girl snapped to attention as she shot up from the console, she faced the ravenette with a wide smile.

"Yep!" She said while popping the 'p', "Hate to ask but what kind of systems do the Grimm use?"

Blake stared blankly at her before she answered, "I'm not sure, if anything I believe that they use something similar to Atlas or Schnee technology."

"You know something went wrong if they're the ones they based their technology on their's." Ruby muttered, "Anyway thanks, this will be easier than I thought."

"If you don't mind me asking... how are you so sure that we can take one down?" Blake hesitantly asked.

"They weren't so hard to destroy back then, besides they mass produce these ships they have to have a drawback even if they're 'state of the art'." Ruby made small air quotes along with her sentence.

"What makes you think that we can do this? You haven't known us for long yet you're confident that we can do this."

"Why are you doubting yourself? If you think like that then you won't get anything done, at least that's how I see things." Ruby went back to her console and typed in several codes.

"How can you be so positive in yourself? Aren't you scared of dying?!"

"Everyone's afraid of dying Blake, I'm no exception to that. But if I sit around and worry about everything, what's the difference between me and a lifeless corpse." She let the words sink in before resuming her work.

Blake stood there for a moment before deciding to return back to her quarters, just as she was about to exit the cargo bay Ruby shouted over to her.

"Hey! I forgot to ask but did Velvet finish removing the custom torpedoes from my ship and adding them to the munitions yet?"

"I believe so, why?"

"It's because we're going to need them for the plan." And with that she finished up on her console. Everything was ready, all that's left is to line the trap and set the bait.

Chapter Text

"This is a horrible plan." Tukson muttered as he fastened his helmet, keeping the visor raised.

"We're already here, might as well do it." Blake sat across from him on a terminal, she clipped her harness over herself and also had her visor raised.

"I mean what happens if things go wrong? What if the plan doesn't work?"

"If you keep thinking like that then it probably won't," Ruby sat off towards the side with her own console, her eyes glued to the large screen, "Hey Velvet? Is there any way you can improve the calibrations on the guidance system?"

"Here let me see what I can do," Velvet got up from the pilot seat and went over to the crimsonette, starting up a small conversation.

"Hey Blake be honest with me, do you think that we have a chance at this?" Tukson looked over to the ebony haired girl, waiting for any expression to show on her face.

"I think we do have a shot, even if it's a small one." She looked over to Tukson who gave a small nod before going back to his terminal.

"Alright everyone, bait is set and ready. Everyone remembered the plan?" Ruby waited for everyone to nod before continuing, "Okay, hoods on. Let's begin the operation."

Everyone slid their visors over their faces, Velvet went and strapped herself in as Blake and Tukson depressurized the ship.

"Engines and Shields are green." Tukson confirmed on his screen.

"Weapon systems are green." Blake followed after.

"Maneuvering Thrusters are green, deactivating artificial gravity." Velvet glanced at the subsystems before focusing on her console.

"Guidance Systems are green, Communications are set, sending transmission." Ruby reached over to her bracelet and pulled off a small pin that was attached, she felt her aura pulse throughout her whole body. She closed her eyes and let the familiar feeling overwhelm her senses. When she opened her eyes they emitted a bright silver glow.

'Nice, I still have this'

"The bait has been released, eyes on scanners. Who knows when they'll show."

-------

Weiss, Yang, and Ciel were rushing towards the bridge, rushing past any worker or soldier in the halls. They entered the crowded room, several were glued to their stations looking at scanners and any proximity alerts. Captain Port was talking to one of the navigators until he caught sight of the trio.

“Miss Schnee, we have nothing on our scans but we shouldn’t linger too long. Who knows when a patrol ship will arrive.” He said with a small bow.

“I wasn’t planning on staying long, how much longer until the engines are recycled?”

“A half an hour at the least, our engineers are already working on repairs on any major systems.”

“Good, notify me if anything changes.” Weiss went over to her seat and pulled up a small screen from one of the arms. She sighed in relief, none of the essential systems were damaged only the outer hull and several quarters.

“So now what? We wait until the Grimm show up?” Yang sat down in one of the open seats, “Where can we go from here?”

Weiss looked up from her screen towards the blonde, “Once the engines are finished we will jump to the Umbara System along the border of Grimm Space. If we’re lucky we can make it to Sidney Station from there.”

“If we’re lucky…” Yang muttered, “What happens if the Grimm find us?”

“Then we’ll negotiate with them.”

“Yeah sure, that’s if they don’t blast us right then and there.” Yang slumped further into her chair.

Everyone sat in silence as the bridge continued to monitor for any movement, Ciel stepped out of the bridge with a few soldiers to assess the damages while Weiss and Yang didn’t move from their seats. Soon after the alarms blared and several screens lit up in red.

“Ma’am, unidentified ship has just been picked up on our sensors.” One of the crewmen shouted out.

“Scanning… shit, we got a Grimm ship approaching!”

“An artillery class ship, it’s a Feilong ma’am.”

“What?!” Weiss shot up from her seat and went over to one of the nearby consoles. Yang shot up and stood beside the white haired girl with her eyes wide in horror.

“Damnit, I knew that this would happen!” Yang stared at the screen, watching the blimp glow closer to the Spectre.

“Ma’am, the ship is hailing us. Should we establish a line?”

“Put them on the comms,” Weiss slowly made her way towards the center table, watching the holographic projection shift into a screen. She was greeted with a sight of a man dressed in Black while wearing a bone white mask with red engravings, his uniform had tints of white and yellow.

“This is the Spectre of the Schnee Robotics, I am Weiss Schnee it’s commanding officer.” Weiss spoke in a professional manner, even going so far to add in a small bow.

“I see, this is the Cutthroat of the Grimm Navy. State your reason of why you’re trespassing Grimm Space and we might let you leave Miss Schnee.” He replied in a similar manner.

“Our ship was attacked by the White Fang and we jumped to escape them, they had possibly set up ambushes at the other jump locations so we jumped here.”

He stood there in silence before giving a small nod, “Alright, once your engines are finished recycling you must leave immediately.”

Weiss virtually relaxed as a small smile nearly crept onto her face, “You have my word captain.”

“We have an escort ready at the next jump, if you need them you can be escorted out of-” Another figure entered the screen behind him, Weiss couldn’t pick up their conversation until they were finished. “I’m sorry for the interruption, something just came up and the escort is investigation the situation.”

“It’s alright, but what happened?”

“I’m sorry but it’s classified.”

“I see, thank you for letting us pass.”

He said nothing as he bowed, then the screen went dark. She stepped away from the screen and held onto the railing for support. She didn’t see the bounty hunter stand next to her until she spoke up.

“Wow Weiss, didn’t know you could pull that off.” Yang offered a hand to the exhausted girl.

Weiss took the offer and stood upright to face her, “Let’s just hope that I won’t need to ever again.”

Yang nodded in agreement. The silence between them was broken as an alert rang from one of the screens.

“What’s going on? Status report!” Weiss stood to attention.

“Ma’am we’re picking up a distress beacon, it’s coming from outside the border near a wreckage site.”

“Put it through, I want to hear it.”

“But ma’am-”

“Yeah Weiss, it doesn’t concern you so why do you care?” Yang raised a brow at the white haired girl.

“It’s just a hunch, put it through.” Weiss answered coldly.

The crewman nodded in reply as he boosted the connection. For a moment no one heard anything but static, soon after a voice came with it’s message.

“-his is Ruby R... of the Alliance Na… my ship is in desperate…-” A distorted voice rang out, “-need assistance no… my confirmation code is-”

Yang felt her blood run cold as she heard the transmission, she looked towards Weiss who had a shocked expression on her face as she listened.

‘No way, she’s… Ruby?!’

“Weiss we have got to help her.” Yang’s expression turned to one full of desperation as she faced her.

“Wha- Yang? What are you going on about? Didn’t you say that it doesn’t concern me?” Weiss raised a brow at her in response.

“No but it does concern me. Please Weiss…” Yang’s voice trailed off, leaving Weiss even more confused.

“Even if I wanted to save her, a Grimm ship is heading towards that location and our engines are still resetting.”

Yang kept her eyes on the transmission screen not moving an inch, Weiss sighed before returning back to her seat. Both of them stayed quiet as they watched the timer go down.

-------

“Sir this is the location of the distress signal.”

“Are you sure that this is her? The one that we’ve been searching for all this time?”

“Affirmative sir, her code matches the data base not to mention the frequency that she’s on.”

“Good, we’ll have great news for her grace.”

The Feilong navigated through the wreckage, the source of the transmission came from inside the debris field. The ship shook as a piece of random metal bounced off the hull.

“Sir, are you sure that this is wise? It’s hard to fly through this wreckage.”

“I’m sure, we can’t have the resistance learn about this. Not to mention that we will be rewarded for killing one of the most wanted criminals in Remnant.”

“Scans are clean, nothing else but the distress signal is here with us.”

The artillery cruiser pulled into an open space where the scrap wasn’t as dense, they saw a small fighter out in the middle.

“Scan the fighter, I want to know if she’s still there.”

“Right away sir.”

“Thermals are picking up a heat source but our scans aren’t picking up any lifesigns.”

“What?!” He turned towards the window and stared towards the disabled craft.

“Sir the heat signature is rising on the figh-”

…

“Now.” Ruby pressed the detonator on her console. Everyone watched the fighter explode, spreading a blue glittery smoke around the Feilong. “Blake hit it.”

Another explosion was heard, parts of the wreckage was blown towards the enemy cruiser. Tukson and Blake held on to their seats as they felt the ship lurched forward, Ruby kept her eyes on the monitor and Velvet held onto the controls.

The smoke surrounding the Feilong dissipated but couldn’t move fast enough away from the incoming debris, metal scraps slammed into the hull bouncing off from the shield. Everyone waited for Ruby’s signal as the ship spun, Blake watched the younger pilot concentrate on her console waiting for any indication to move.

“Heat her up!” Ruby shouted, Velvet didn’t waste any time as she pulled down the lever. The emergency lights shifted from red to blue as Blake’s and Tukson’s consoles lit up. “Full power to thrusters! Blake fire the railgun!”

Tukson shifted the power from the shields to the maneuvering thrusters as Blake charged the main battery. Their ship stopped spinning and rebalanced itself right to the side of the Grimm, Blake felt the vibration of the railgun firing watching the shot collide with the shields tearing apart the energy barrier.

"Firing torpedoes one through four, activating guidance system." Ruby navigated each torpedo through the scrapyard, Blake couldn't track them with her own eyes even with the blue trail following each torpedo. At an instant they all turned and sped towards the artillery cruiser from all different angles, PDCs immediately locked on and sprayed towards the incoming projectiles.

Boom, Boom, Boom

'Damn their targeting systems are better'

Velvet watched the torpedoes explode into a similar blue glittery smoke around the ship, she snapped out of her thoughts as Ruby shouted, "Velvet! Turn port side!"

Her hands shifted, turning the ship towards it's left barely avoiding a bright yellow beam. Tukson adjusted the shields as Blake scanned the ship for any damages.

"Engines and thrusters are intact, storage bay took a hit." Blake shifted through different screens to assess the damage.

"Shields are gone, rerouting energy reserves to the engines."

"Velvet, use the surrounding debris as cover. Don't give them a clear opening." Ruby's gaze never left her screen, her eyes flickering.

The smaller ship flew through the wreckage, narrowly avoiding both gunfire and with colliding with scrap metal.

"They fired torpedoes, I count seven. Blake on those PDCs now!" Tukson shouted.

She answered with a nod as she pulled up the targeting reticle, several torpedos were caught by the floating debris while a few slipped. Blake fired at a few that came too close, she felt the vibration from the explosions.

"Enemy is charging up the main cannon!" They narrowly avoided the beam as they flew behind a ruined engine, large enough to hide the smaller craft but not enough to stop the beam from passing through. The ship shook from the impact as Velvet tried to stabilize the vessel from the attack.

"Damnit, damage report!" Velvet shouted without looking away from the controls.

"Hull has been breached, we can patch that up later but thruster thirteen is down." Blake looked over to Ruby who still hasn't looked away from her screen. "What do we do?!"

Tukson tore his eyes away from his screen and joined along with Blake as they looked towards the crimsonette, an audible sigh was heard from the younger girl. "Tukson man the PDCs, Blake ready torpedoes five through eight and wait for my mark."

"What about the shields?!" Tukson yelled.

"It doesn't matter, one hit with that cannon and it'll tear through us like paper. Velvet keep them from destroying the main engines."

The smaller ship ducked past a couple more debris as several more shots grazed the hull, sparks flew overhead as wreckage collided with the ship. The artillery cruiser followed closely behind ignoring all the damage from the floating wreckage. Soon after they were running out of debris to hide behind and were coming up on a clear field.

"We're running out of cover!" Velvet glanced at the crimsonette who didn't answer back.

"Shit they're gaining on us..." Blake kept her hand on the trigger, waiting for the command to shoot.

"Just fire Blake! They'll be over us in no time if we don't fight back!" Tukson shouted from across the room.

Her eyes met his, she hesitated to pull the trigger but kept her hand on it. She looked towards the younger pilot for any answers to her internal conflict.

"Enemy ship is charging it's cannon again!" Velvet broke her from her thoughts. "We're about to enter the clearing!"

"Velvet! Turn the ship around!" Ruby shouted.

She didn't hesitate as she activated the thrusters. Everyone braced from the sudden maneuver, the scavenger ship turned a full 180 degree to face the approaching cruiser.

"Fire Blake!" Blake squeezed the trigger and felt the vibration of the torpedoes launching from the salvos. Four torpedoes accelerated towards the enemy cruiser, their PDCs spun up and sprayed down the incoming torpedoes leaving the blue smoke to obscure both of their visions.

"Descend now!"

Velvet didn't wait for any thoughts of protest to form as the ship flew downwards, she waited for the bright beam to shoot from the cloud of smoke and waited to take any evasive actions. Blake however had her eyes wander towards the scrapyard, caught on something moving through the wreckage entering her vision for only brief seconds at a time. The moving object had a blue trail following behind it as it collided with the Feilong, Blake attention was interrupted as she heard another sigh on her left. She turned and saw Ruby slouch in her seat, cupping her eyes with her hands.

"Mission is a success, we did it." Was all she said.

Blake and Tukson stared at her in confusion, Velvet glanced back towards her before refocusing.

"What do you mean?! They could still attack us, we can't afford to-" Tukson was cut off as Velvet joined in.

"Uh guys?" She slowed the engines as she got a better view of the Grimm Feilong, the large artillery warship floated lifelessly in the wreckage. The lights were gone and the ship looked as if it was dead along with the wreckage around it, as they circled it Blake noticed a hole cutting into the ship where the object had collided.

"H-how did you-" Tukson was interrupted as Ruby unclipped her harness.

"Tukson jam their communications, Blake open up a link and tell them our demands." Ruby unstrapped herself from her chair and kicked herself towards the door.

"What if they refuse?" Blake looked at the crimsonette with a brow raised.

"I think for once they're in a position where they can't. I'll be heading on over to collect the parts." She said as the doors closed behind her, leaving the faunus more confused than ever.

Blake was about to establish a comm link until their communicator picked up a line from the Grimm ship, she answered it immediately and was greeted with a man dressed in a black uniform and a white mask.

"We... surrender." He physically deflated on the screen, she took notice of how they were running on emergency power as she caught sight of the red lighting behind him.

"We accept your surrender on several conditions, first we will need something from your ship." Blake sent a small list of parts to the officer, "And second is that if you harm our emissary, we will not hold back and tear apart your ship in seconds."

"I- we..." There was a pause from the man as he read the list, "B-but if we give up those parts we'll-"

"Do you accept the terms? Or will we have to salvage it from your wreckage?" Blake kept her tone in a calm but threatening manner.

"I-I ask of you to give us a few minutes to gather the parts, we will leave them in airlock four."

Blake smiled as she watched the small craft detach itself from the scavenger ship and docked itself to the respective airlock.

...

"Not now..." Ruby held onto the handle that was off to the side of the main door. Her eyes were flickering once more as she tried to stand up straight, her free hand fell to her holster on her belt gripping the familiar revolver in her hand. "-still have a job to finish..."

She pushed herself off the side and stood upright, she pulled both revolvers from her belt and opened the door. The hatch hissed as it connected to the airlock, soon after metallic claws pried open the hatch and machines charged at the younger girl. Or tried to, several shots rang out from each revolver tearing apart the exoskeletons before they could enter the small craft. She stepped onto the dark halls of the cruiser, she wasn't surprised to see any parts nor messenger waiting for her as she walked out. She leaned against the wall and waited for any signs of movement, tapping her foot on the floor.

She didn’t hear any footsteps approaching but rather the sound of claws scraping along the floor. She closed her eyes and focused on the sound, even with closed doors she knew where they were coming from. She aimed towards the closed metal door in front of her and pulled back the hammer. Her revolver emitted a small bluish glow as it charged up, a loud shot was heard as it burned right through the door. She turned around just as quick and fired another shot at the door, she stood still listen for anything that made a sound. Nothing, she heard nothing move just the sound of hissing from busted pipes or the alarms that blared. The ground under her creaked slightly, she jumped to her left as a large claw broke through the flooring. She rolled to the side and blasted off one of its legs, the beowolf crashed onto the ground desperately clawing its way to her. A another shot echoed the halls and its head exploded into bits of metal and black goop.

Ruby ejected the energy cartridges and reloaded both revolvers before she holstered them. She tapped her helmet comm and waited next to the airlock.

“Hey Velvet?” She heard nothing but static. She sighed as she turn off her comms and went over to a nearby terminal. She pulled out a small cord from her right glove and inserted in into the port, she typed something on her wrist pad and a few seconds later her screen lit up with the schematics of the ship. She marked several rooms on her map and began to walk down the dark halls.

…

“Come in, I repeat come in.” Velvet sighed as she turned off the communicator. “She isn’t responding.”

Blake had the call on hold as she turned to face the bunny faunus, “Do you think she’s okay?”

“She would’ve picked up by now, she’s been on that ship for a couple of minutes. Do you think they got to her?” Tukson joined in as he turned to face the two.

“Maybe… I mean there are Grimm onboard too right?” Velvet said with uncertainty.

All three sat in silence, the situation finally dawning on them. Blake went back to the monitor and was faced again with the same officer, she unmuted the audio and resumed transmitting with the Feilong.

“Ah, I see you’re back. The parts are taking longer to aquir-”

“Cut the bullshit, you weren’t going to give up those parts weren’t you.”

She noticed the pause and how he froze in place. “I have no idea what you are on about-”

“Yeah right, if you aren’t going to cooperate will just take it from your corpses.”

“Wait, wait, wait let’s not be hasty here-” He threw up his arms in defense, he was about to argue until the door to the room flew open with a loud thud.

All Blake saw was the man stepping back slightly and a boot enter the screen, the heel of the boot making contact with his face. The kick sent him flying backwards as an audible shatter was heard through the transmission.

“Jackass... oh hey Blake!” A familiar pair of silver eyes stared back through the monitor, “I got all the parts, well except for this one.”

Ruby reached over and pulled something from the wall, the screen flickered for a moment before cutting out leaving only the audio.

“I’ll be over in a moment, be ready to jump to another location until I’m onboard.”

“Alright, see you then.” Blake cut the transmission and changed the screen to the ship’s layout. She looked over to Tukson who was already well underway on repairing the damaged thrusters and patching up the exposed hull. Velvet was scanning the ship for any other anomalies or disruptions. A few more minutes passed before she saw the smaller craft detach itself from the Feilong and approached theirs, the ship shook as the craft connected to the hull. The doors hissed as they opened up with Ruby stepping out, she noticed that the artificial gravity was turned on and how the hull breaches were patched... more or less.

"Hey! We got a problem over here!." Tukson shouted from across the hull towards the younger girl. She didn't take long to enter the bridge behind the dark haired man, she quickly noticed the scanner going off towards her right as Velvet and Blake were at the controls in the front.

"Took you long enough, we got something big coming out of FTL." Blake punched in coordinates into the nav computer.

"Whatever this thing is, it's just as big if not bigger than a Dragon Class Grimm Cruiser." Velvet began charging the FTL drive, she let the engines charge up as Tukson and Ruby strapped themselves into an open chair.

"Is it hostile?" Ruby finished buckling herself in, she glanced at the monitor to see if she could recognize the shape of the incoming ship.

"We're unsure but don't want to stick around to find out." Blake entered the coordinates, soon after the ship directed itself towards the openness of space before the engines hummed.

"Wait, where are we going?"

"We're going to an old friend of ours in Yīnliáng Relay."

The scavenger ship went into FTL moments before the Spectre had arrived at the wreckage site. The dreadnought kept it's distance from the scrapyard as it scanned the debris for the distress signal that called them here in the first place. Several scans pinged for the source, the only thing that was picked up from the scanner was the SOS from the ruined Feilong.

Yang went over to an open console, flipping through and looking at many cameras that searched for the ship that belonged to Ruby. She felt her heart sank as she stopped at one of the monitors as it viewed a fighter torn up from the inside, barely keeping itself connected as it floated among the wreckage.

Weiss however only stared at the cruiser in confusion, she can see the damage and the state the ship was reduced to and by the looks of things it just happened recently. Questions began to swarm her mind, but only one was more important than the rest.

'Who could've done this?'

Chapter Text

She didn't know how long she sat there on the bench, staring towards the ceiling above her. She was so close to getting a lead, so close to finding out anything about Ruby Rose her older sister and yet she let the opportunity slip right through her fingers. She didn't even register her name being called as the white haired girl approached her.

"-ang! Hey you bumbling oaf did you hear me?" Weiss stood a couple feet from the blonde, putting both her hands on her hips.

"I'm sorry what?" Yang turned to face the irritated girl, her face devoid of any emotion.

"What I said was that we finished evacuating the Grimm Cruiser, we got some crew members on board that you could question if you like."

That got the bounty hunter's attention, she stood up from the bench and looked at Weiss. "Wait, really?"

Weiss nodded as she gestured the way towards the halls. Yang ran down the hallway narrowly avoiding crashing into several workers until she stood outside of the briefing room. She hesitantly stepped inside where several Grimm soldiers and workers turned to face her.

"Hey what do you think you're doing in here?" One of them yelled as he dropped a crate.

Yang closed the door behind her before answering, "I'm here for information, I don't suppose you wouldn't mind telling me what attacked you out here?"

"Why you little- why would you want to know?"

"It's important for me to know."

"Hmph why should we tell you scamp?" He was about to turn away until he felt a hand on his shoulder and was turned around immediately.

"I said-" Her gaze shifted to anger as the room was filled with tension, "-it's important for me to know, so are you going to tell me? Or are we going to do this the hard way?"

All the soldiers pulled out their pistols and aimed at Yang who stood there and activated her shield, not intimidated at all by their display. No one made a move as silence filled the room, after a while the door opened up with Weiss and Ciel standing at the doorway.

"Everyone put your weapons away!" Ciel ordered as they both stepped into the room.

"Great and now we have a Schnee, oh what can we do for you?" One of the other soldiers said sarcastically.

"Weapons away, now ." Weiss said coldly, the room felt a lot colder than before. Several soldiers holstered their pistols while the rest lowered but kept it in their hand. Satisfied she turned towards the cause of the commotion with a scowl, "Yang I hope that you know there are better alternatives for asking for help."

"What?" Yang had an exasperated look on her face.

"I know you're eager to hunt down that ship but you could've told them what, I mean one of the most infamous bounty hunters hunting down the next threat to gain a hefty reward doesn't seem so secretive does it."

Yang glanced at Weiss with a brow raised, however stared at the blonde in disbelief.

"A bounty hunter? What's your name name?" A female voice called out.

"Yang Xiao Long, The Dragon Huntress." She said flatly.

The room was filled with silence as everyone was focused on her, some with their jaws wide open.

"Xiao Long, The Xiao Long that single handedly took out an entire slave trade ship."

"You mean the one that took out a underground criminal organization?"

"Ahem." Yang cleared her throat gaining everyone's attention, "So will you tell me?"

...

Weiss left the room soon after they were finished explaining the general details, apparently she managed to strike a deal with them that would benefit both parties. They would silently investigate the matter regarding the warship and eliminating it and they'll gain access to Grimm flight routes as long as they aren't straying too far from the border.

Although the white haired girl had her own reasons for helping Yang with her objectives. She knew of the name of Ruby Rose, not from the wanted posters or gossip from other crew members on board the Spectre but rather from her father. He would sometimes go on about a woman named Ruby who impressed everyone with her debut at the academy or her accomplishments that she achieved at a young age. She was even part of the elite flight squad that served under Ozpin back in the golden days.

To the rest of Remnant, Ruby Rose was a criminal who was wanted for terrorism and crimes against the Grimm but to her she was her idol who she stride to become. She hid herself for twenty years from the Grimm leaving no traces of her existence in any way, shape, or form up until now. The transmission they received gave her hope to finding her but she wasn't the only one who shown interest.

When she heard the transmission, Yang also had a similar reaction when she discovered it was from Ruby Rose herself. She had her doubts about the bounty hunter wondering why she was interested in finding Ruby, her eyes weren't ones full of greed and desires but ones of desperation. She will have to question the blonde at a later date, for now she would have her contacts look out for this mysterious ship and for any more leads on the silver eyed pilot.

---------

"Are you sure it's okay to leave her all by herself to watch the ship?" Velvet was a couple paces behind both Tukson and Blake as they strode through the busy market.

"I'm positive, she said that she was making repairs to the hull and reconnecting the disabled thrusters. She'll be fine." Blake reassured the bunny faunus.

"I don't think Velvet was worried about that, I think she was concerned about the scrappers that might steal from our ship while we are away." Tukson held a large bag containing their spoils.

The trio walked through the crowded market place, the relay was located on an asteroid along a popular trade route making it a convenient pit stop for traders. Artificial lights illuminated the dark alleys and streets as the natural star was forever blocked by the asteroid. They made their way down towards the shops, where everything was less crowded. They entered a two story shop with a sign that read The Vultures Nest .

The three entered and closed the door behind them. The room was empty but the sound of slicing was present, Blake went up and rang the small bell on the desk an audible ring echoed the room and the sound stopped.

"Be right there." A gruff voice came from the side room. Soon after a burly man stepped in without batting an eye to them. "Welcome to the Vulture's Nest, sorry but unless you have business with me I'll have to- Blake?"

He stared at the ebony haired girl for a moment before focusing on the other two faunus with wide eyes.

"Velvet! Tukson! What brings you here!" He stepped out from the counter and gave everyone a small hug, "It hasn't been that long since we last met, what happened?"

"What do you mean Omar?” Blake raised a brow towards the bear faunus.

“Come on, we’ve been partners for years. I know for a fact that it would've taken you at least another couple of days.” His eyes settled towards the large bag, “So what have you brought me this time?”

Tukson set the large bag on the counter, dropping with a loud thud. Omar eyed the bag with curiosity as he stepped closer. He opened the bag and his eyes widened in shock.

“Where did you, how did you…” He turned to face Tukson in disbelief, “Don't tell me you did-”

“We raided a Grimm Feilong near the border, we disabled it and gutted the ship afterwards." Tukson explained.

"If you didn't hand me the parts I would've said bullshit," Omar closely examined each part before turning to the trio, "So, who's the new crew member?"

Blake took a step back as the others wore a surprised expression on their faces.

"Who said anything about a new member Omar?" Blake's eyes narrowed at the him.

"Nobody, I swear." He raised both of his hands up in defense, "I worked with you all for five years, never in that time have I seen something like this before. So it seems odd that as how conservative you are to do something this reckless."

Blake visibly relaxed but kept her eyes on the bear faunus, Omar however didn't care as he took the bag from Tukson and disappeared into the side room. He later returned with a tablet and placed it on the counter.

"Alright, here you go. 253 thousand lien units and as a bonus for being regulars I threw in 14 more." Omar slid the device over to Blake, she signed and returned the tablet with a small smile.

“Thank you Omar, it's been a pleasure working with you for all these years.”

“Pleasure is all mine, but do come visit sometimes. I know that you’re quitting the White Fang but don't be afraid to stop by.”

“Will do, take care old friend.” Tukson waved goodbye, They were about to step out Omar shouted.

“Hey one last thing! Who’s your new member?”

Blake looked back to her companions, they gave a small nod and stepped out leaving the ebony haired girl alone.

“We found her on a desolate moon, she's… young but she does know her stuff when it comes to maintenance.”

“If I recall the deal was that you weren't supposed to get help from other faunus?”

“The deal doesn't apply to humans.”

“Yeah because humans wouldn't be in a hundred feet from any White Fang members. How did you even recruit her?”

“She asked to join.”

“Really? Well I wish you good luck on your journey.”

“Hey Omar… just a quick question.”

“Sure lay it on me.” Omar went to grab a pair of tools from a nearby shelf.

“What do you know of people with silver eyes?”

Omar nearly dropped his tools as he faced Blake, “S-silver eyes? Wh-why do you want to know?”

“We… encountered someone with bright silver eyes before we came here.” Blake raised a brow as she noticed his behavior.

“Having silver eyes is an extremely rare trait, hell even the Grimm are hunting them down. Tell me Blake, what did they look like?”

“What makes them so rare Omar?”

“Answer my question first then I'll answer yours.”

“They… were short and had black hair tipped with red. Now will you answer mine?”

Omar stared at her with wide eyes and his mouth opened, as if he was in disbelief. “What makes them so rare is that they inherit powers Blake. Enhanced senses and reflexes, supernatural powers, hell stuff that make the impossible actually possible.” He leaned against the counter for support. “Blake, did they give you a name?”

“I don't think they did.”

“Don’t go around telling people about this Blake, especially the Grimm. Who knows what they’ll do to you if they knew.”

“What about you Omar? What will you do?”

“I know people that can keep me safe, at least for a while. Stay safe Blake, if you ever meet them again contact me okay?”

She nodded as she left, leaving the burly man alone. He sat there for a moment before reaching for his transmitter.

“Hey? It's me… yeah it's important. Tell them that she’s alive and that she is on the move. I repeat Ruby Rose has a child and is on the move.”

…

“What took you so long Blake?” Tukson was leaning against a wall with Velvet across from him.

“I had a couple questions to ask him, so are we ready to move?”

Velvet shook her head, “Apparently the Grimm is marching through the streets transporting precious cargo of the sort. They forced civilians to evacuate from the streets.” Blake was about to ask why until her eyes were caught on something in the distance, several hooded figures were perched on the rooftop looking down towards the street.

“Velvet, where is the Grimm marching through?”

“They’re marching on the street beyond those houses.” Velvet pointed to the buildings in front of the trio.

“Shit, we need to move.” Blake took off in one of the alleyways with Velvet and Tukson following closely behind.

“What’s going on Blake?” Tukson yelled as they were traveling through the alley.

Her voice was drowned out by the loud shrill overhead accompanied by the alarms blaring.

"Alert! Alert! Unidentified craft has breached the perimeter!"

A sleek black fighter cut through the sky with a pink trail following it's engines, flying dangerously close to the ground. It flew past them dropping several torpedoes onto the street next to them. The ground shook from the explosions as debris flew over the houses, some nearly hitting the trio. Shouting was heard along with the sound of gunfire.

"For the Resistance!" One of the hooded figures threw off his cloak and pulled out a LMG and sprayed down the street.

A couple more hooded figures emerged from the rooftop and followed suit, pulling out various weapons while taking fire from the Grimm. Velvet and Tukson ran to the nearest alley as Blake took cover behind a hover car. She heard the metal dent from the scattering shots from the ambush, she pulled out her transmitter and established a line to the ship.

"Hey, are you there?"

She waited until she heard the transmission responded, "A little- busy Blake."

Blake heard several gunshots over the comms, "What's going on over there?"

"Several- jackasses brought over some Grimm- reinforcements to the docks." Ruby said in between shots, "Ship's ready to- go. Just waiting for all of you."

A shot sparked next to Blake's head, causing her to flinch. "I don't know if that's possible, we're pinned down in the Market District. Can you it over here?"

There was a pause in the transmission, she heard nothing but static before a sigh was heard from the younger girl. "I'll try."

With that the transmission was cut, another shot landed next to the ebony haired girl. She waited then ran out towards the alleyway where her companions were waiting.

"What now? We got Grimm on one side and terrorists on the other." Tukson pulled out his sidearm.

"We just have to wait it out, it's possible that we could do nothing and this could just blow over." Velvet said.

The shrill came back as another explosion shook the streets, the gunfire grew louder by the seconds as more joined in the fight. Blake saw several containers open up with Grimm Machines crawling out of them. She leaned against a wall and pulled out her pistol as she looked around for an exit.

"I hope that she can get here intact, there's nowhere we can move without getting shot."

...

Ruby vaulted over a wall and slid under a hover car as she darted past several shops towards the Market District. She ran into an alleyway and used the wall as a springboard as she climbed onto the rooftop. A couple shots past by her head as she hopped from rooftop to rooftop using the vents as cover. She ducked into another alley as she slid against the ground as she hid from them. She looked down towards her bracelet and rested her hand on the pin, hesitantly deciding to pull it or not.

A grenade landed next to her, snapping her out of her thoughts. She jumped to the side as her shield absorbed most of the explosion, breaking in the process. She rolled under a hover car and pulled out her revolver, another spray of beams passed right above her hitting the car.

‘Dammit, they’re just behind this wall… wait’

She flipped over onto her back and pulled a panel from the car, with no effort she pried off a metal panel and tossed it aside. She pulled out and reconnected several wires, the engine sputtered to life as she removed the emergency brakes. The car accelerated over her and broke right through the concrete wall, leaving a massive hole in its path.

She propped herself up and went through the hole, holding her revolver close to her chest as she ran through the alleyways. She stopped and leaned against a wall as she pulled out her transmitter.

“Blake, I'm here. Where are you guys at?”

“We… ding…er…” Static mostly filled the comms as Ruby pocketed her transmitter.

‘Great they set up a jammer too’

She heard metal scraping against the metal grates, she listened and ducked as the claws cut through the wall behind her narrowly missing her head. She rolled away from the beowolf as it clawed its way through the wall, Ruby lined up the shot but stopped as a hail of lasers came from above her. All the shots bounced off the armor, not leaving a single scratch on the exoskeleton.

“Shit! We got a tin can over here!” A shout came overhead. “You! On the street, get away from that-”

A howl came from the beowolf as it charged at her, she rolled to the side as it slammed against the wall. Ruby tried to bring up her revolver but ducked once more as it came at her relentlessly. Her back hit the wall with nowhere to go, she faced the beowolf as it cornered her. The man on top dropped down and shot twice at it's back.

“Get away from her!” He yelled as he shot again.

It's attention shifted from Ruby to him, the beowolf turned and snarled at the attacker. She took the opportunity and rolled under the beowolf pressing the barrel of her revolver against it's jaw. A bright light burst from the metallic head as black fluids sprayed everywhere along with scraps of metal. Ruby was slightly drenched as she stood up, dusting herself off.

“Thanks for that, you saved me an extra shot.” She turned to face the man who stared at her with wide eyes and his jaw opened.

"H-how did, how did you-"

"Ah, incoming!" Ruby shoved him through a door, breaking it as he fell backwards. The door broke from his weight as he fell on his back, he tried to get up as quickly as possible to catch the unknown girl but to no avail. He stood in an empty courtyard with a beowolf corpse laying in the center with a gaping hole in it's head.

"Just my luck..."

"Hey! Sage! You okay down there!" A feminine shout was heard on the rooftop. The green haired man turned to face the fellow soldier as she landed next to him.

"Coco I'm fine, although I wish I could've stop her."

"Ooh, found a new crush?" Coco raised a brow as she lowered her rifle. Her attention however turned towards the metallic body laying on the ground. "Damn Sage, didn't know that you can take on one of these things alone... unless Valkyrie One bombed it."

"No, I didn't kill it. A civilian was cornered by it and I tried to help them escape."

"Tried?"

"Turns out that she used me as a distraction as she got a clean shot on it."

The brunette let out a whistle as she examined the beowolf, "Whatever she used it sure packed quite a punch. What did she use anyway?"

"It looked like a sidearm... smaller than your rifle actually." Sage recalled.

"Really? Where did she go?"

"i don't know, she was here a moment ago then simply vanished."

"Did you at least get a good look on her?" Coco lowered her sunglasses as she looked at the green haired man.

"She was small and young, her hair was black but I think that it was because she was drenched in oil."

"Damn you're useless," She readjusted her shades before answering her comms, "Hello? This is ground team Bravo, requesting to change objective from Search and Destroy to Secure Target."

...

Blake watched from the alley way as several more soldiers retreated from the Grimm, some shouting over the gunfire as the mechanical beasts moved in for the kill. Velvet listened for any incoming movement as Tukson held his pistol, the fighting was growing in intensity as the Grimm sent in the beasts.

"What do we do Blake? We can't do anything if a beowolf finds us." Velvet said with fear hinted in her voice.

"What can we do? If we step out we can get shot by either side. We just have to hope that she can find us a route away from all of this."

"So we're hoping that a little girl make her way through a battlefield, unscathed, to get us out of here?" Tukson eyed the ebony haired girl with confusion.

"She had access to the ship's arsenal, I'm not hoping that she runs through the battlefield but makes a path along the sidelines."

"This is a stupid plan." He said as he looked around for hostiles.

"It's not like we have a better plan, unless you want to punch down a wa-"

Thud

The loud sound caught everyones attention as a visible dent popped out from the metal wall. Everyone drew their pistols as the dent popped out more with each thud. A laser pierced through the metal wall followed by a loud cry as a beowolf crashed through the wall, at least the upper half of it.

"Piece of shit," Ruby stepped from the hole, wiping away the oil from her face. She pulled out her revolver and checked the energy cartridge in one fluid motion. "Alright, still have about... five? No four shots left."

Everyone stared at Ruby as their eyes shifted between her and the mechanical body.

"So?" Ruby blew a strand of hair from her face, "You said you needed an exit?"

Chapter Text

"I fail to see how this is an escape route." Tukson said while following the younger girl with his gun drawn.

"I fail to noticed how you're the only one in the group that complains about everything." Ruby peeked from the corner, signaling everyone to move forward as she checked the rear for any followers. "And to answer your question, it's not."

"Then why are you going this way? Aren't you leading us towards the battle?" Velvet asked.

"First off we're surrounded, we can't go anywhere without expecting a fight. Second, I only have a couple rounds left in my revolver, I can probably take on two Grimm Beasts at the most. And lastly I'm not leading us towards the battle, I saw a munitions shop in the area."

"Munitions? You need to stock up on ammo?" Blake joined in, carefully observing the area before her eyes fell on the younger girl. The first thing that she'd noticed was that Ruby’s eyes weren't glowing and that her bracelet had a small pin attached to the side.

"Exactly- the sooner I get ammo for my revolvers, the easier it’ll be for us to make our escape." Ruby said as she patted her holsters.

The group passed by several houses and shops until they stood a block from the munitions store. Bright lights illuminated the sign reading Ammo Dumpster above the store; several Grimm guards stood outside with one beowolf wandering nearby.

“Alright, I got a plan.”

“This is going to be good.” Tukson grumbled.

Blake and Velvet glared at him before turning their attention to the younger girl.

“Tukson take this.” Ruby handed him an empty revolver, “You and the others are going to look inside the building and find the same ammo type while I cause a distraction outside.”

“How will you manage that?” Velvet asked.

“It’s much easier than you think. I’ll see you there.” Ruby jumped off a wall and climbed onto the roof, leaving the trio in the alleyway.

"Still didn't answer the question," Tukson muttered as his attention shifted to the sidearm in his hand, "But damn this thing is light. How does this even kill Grimm Beasts?"

"I think you should ask her when this is all over." Blake said as she watched the guards.

He nodded as he joined the two faunus, watching for the appearance of the younger girl.

...

Ruby hopped from rooftop to rooftop as she circled around the munitions store, stopping herself just as a patrol passed below her. She watched the guards move on as one of them stayed just below her. She waited then jumped onto the guard with her boot, slamming their face against the pavement with an audible crack. She grabbed the pistol from their holster and their belt full of gadgets. She quickly strapped the belt on herself as she approached the store.

‘Okay- I could either detonate grenades away from the store, or…’ An idea sparked in her mind as a small smile crept onto her face.

She pulled out several grenades and dashed through the rubble, leaving a couple grenades in small cracks. Once she was out of grenades she spun on her heel and sprinted towards the beowolf, raising her revolver. The beowolf turned towards her and immediately staggered backwards as a shot pierced its left shoulder, blowing away metal and wires. It snarled at the intruder before its head was blown off with another shot, falling into a heap of scrap metal as Ruby ran over its destroyed body.

A couple guards took notice and raised their guns; Ruby slid behind cover and detonated the grenades. Several explosions rang out around them with debris flying everywhere. Ruby ran out and pulled out the pistol, squeezing the trigger.

Click Click

Her eyes widened as her heard the pistol, the guard in front of her taking notice and aiming his rifle at her. She rolled as shots flew over her head, quickly recovering and hurling the pistol at the guard. The pistol knocked the guard back as she brought her fist up and, with an audible crack, struck their face- sending the guard backwards. She picked up the rifle and tried firing the gun, but the same clicking sound echoed through the gun. She sighed as she tossed the gun away.

‘That sets things back… wait’

She looked back towards the dead soldier, noticing the belt of grenades hanging on their waist. Another smile crept onto her face as a plan formed in her head.

…

Explosions echoed out through the town as Blake and the others snuck into the building. Tukson dragged one of the bodies off to the side as Velvet reloaded her pistol. Blake searched the shelves for the same cartridges as Velvet followed suit, Tukson kept his eyes watching the chaos outside while watching for any guards.

“Damn, you have got to feel bad for the poor suckers out there.” Tukson said as the chaos ensued.

“Tukson keep your eyes peeled for guards, not on her.” Velvet said as she sighed when she picked up the wrong magazine.

“You know it’s a revolver right Velvet?”

“Yeah I know.”

“Then why are you in the rifle section?”

Velvet glanced up towards the sign, her face flaring up along with her embarrassment, “S-shut up, I’ve never been in a gun store before. You know this.”

“Guys stay focused, we don’t have a lot of time left.” Blake said as she pocketed a couple parts.

“Says the girl who’s looking for anything but the cartridges.” Velvet muttered as she went back on her search.

A couple minutes passed before the sound of explosions stopped, Tukson took notice of this and raised his pistol.

“You two better hurry up, I think the Grimm will be here soo-”

A soldier flew through one of the windows shattering the glass that once stood in the frame as he crashed to the ground. Tukson stood at alert until Ruby stepped out from the broken window.

"Ugh, you stupid cu-" His speech was cut short as Ruby swung a metal pipe against his head. His head went limp along with his body as she dropped the pipe, clattering against the floor.

"Whew, got him." Ruby took a deep breath before facing the burly man, "Did you find it yet?"

He shook his head before turning around towards Blake and Velvet, "Hey! Any progress?"

"No," Both of them said in union.

"Tsk, how much time can you buy us?"

"Won't last long if there are two beowolves, but I'll see what I can do." Ruby said as she turned towards the door, she stopped as she passed one of the weapon lockers. "Ooh what's this?"

"Huh?" Tukson went over to where she was and looked inside the weapon locker, "It's the Scorpion Evo B3, it's the newest model too..."

"Scorpion Evo? Wasn't that made by Shade's Arms Co.?"

"Yep, they've been developing newer models that shoot faster and hit harder every time-"

"I'll take it." She said as she stuck a cord into the side port next to the terminal from her right gauntlet.

"You can't just-"

The locker opened up after Ruby typed something into her gauntlet. She pulled out the sub-machine gun and inserted a magazine, she examined the gun before slinging it over her shoulder.

"It's a keeper! I can't wait to mod it when we get back to the ship." She said as she grabbed a bag and stuffed it with the same magazine as the sub-machine gun.

"Yeah yeah, you're stealing a gun for me later." Tukson said as he pulled out a gun from the opened locker, immediately pocketing it as the building shook.

"What was that?" Velvet said as her head peered out from the shelves.

The wall closest to Ruby broke as a metallic claw reached out towards the younger girl, giving little to no time to react. Ruby tried to pull out her revolver only for small pieces of the wall to collide with her. She staggered as she tried to line up a shot at the beowolf, her vision was blurry from the shock of the impact. Her shot passed through the lower half of the beowolf, effectively slowing it down but not killing it. The beast picked up another piece of rubble and tossed it at her, Ruby quickly ducked and raised her revolver once more squeezing the trigger. What she couldn't see was the second debris that was tossed after the first, hitting her square in the chest. She flew back as her grip on her gun loosened, her revolver dropped to the ground after it fired it shot missing the beowolf completely.

The revolver clattered to the ground and skid across the floor away from Ruby as she laid on the ground barely conscious. She tried to prop herself up as the beowolf made its way towards the younger girl. Blake watched in horror, her body paralyzed with fear as she saw the mechanical beast looming over Ruby. Her thoughts halted as she saw the familiar revolver skid to a stop next to her, she didn't know what happened but her body moved on it's own as her hand clutched around the grip and ran towards the two. Her body reacted as her thoughts halted, she ran with the revolver close to her chest until she stood in between Ruby and the beowolf raising the revolver up.

"What are you doing Blake!" Ruby cried out, "Get out of here! It's out of-"

Blake ignored her cries as she aimed and fired the revolver, a bright light flashed from the barrel as the shot blew apart its head from its exoskeleton. The rest of the body crashed to the ground as oil sprayed all over. The older girl took a couple deep breaths before she walked over to the younger girl, Ruby stared wide eyed at the ebony haired girl before her eyes fell on to her revolver.

“Are you okay?” Blake said as she extended her hand out to the crimsonette.

“Yeah- thanks for the save.” She took the offered hand and pulled herself onto her feet. She dusted herself off as she took her revolver back from the cat faunus. She waited for Blake and Tukson to walk away before she held up her gun.

“So you want to spew out miracles when you’re held by someone else huh?” She whispered in a tone that sounded that she was hurt. She shook her head and holstered her sidearm as she rejoined the trio in the main aisles.

“Any luck Velvet?” Ruby asked.

“Is this it?” The brunette tossed a cartridge at the younger girl, Ruby caught it with ease and ejected her energy cartridge replacing it with the one that Velvet had gave her.

She aimed at the metallic corpse and fired a shot. The beam blew off the arm of the beowolf, leaving a heat ring around the blast. With a nod she turned and gave a thumbs up to the bunny faunus, “Nice job Velvet, now let's grab loads of it before the Grimm show up.”

Everyone nodded in agreement as Tukson handed back her revolver, she quickly reloaded the chamber but just as she was about to holster it an idea came to mind.

“Hey Blake…”

“Yeah?” The taller girl turned to face Ruby.

“Catch!” Ruby tossed the revolver to the ebony haired girl. Blake easily caught the gun but stared at Ruby in confusion, “What? It’ll be easier for us to deal with the beasts if two of us are armed.”

“I know that but why me?” Blake raised a brow as she waited for her response.

“Why not?” Was all she said as she exited the store holding both her new weapon and a bag full of cartridges, leaving the puzzled girl with the others.

“Come on Blake, let's get of here.” Tukson said as he followed Ruby, soon after Blake caught up with everyone as she kept her eyes open for hostiles.

…

“Is that her?” Coco said as she watched from her binoculars.

“Yeah that’s her, the little one with black hair.” Sage said as he looked through his scope.

Both soldiers were perched on top of a tower, most of their forces had scattered due to the Grimm reinforcements that had arrived. Now some were scouring the city for their new objective.

“It looks like that she’s with other people… could they be with her?”

“I don’t know Sage, but they’re heading towards the docks.”

"Where? I can't see a damn."

"They're using the buildings as cover you moron."

"How is it that you can see them but you're wearing shades?" His remark earned him a small smack to the back of his head.

"This is ground team Bravo, the target is heading towards the docks. Ground team Charlie can you intercept the target?" Coco said as she got onto her comms.

"This is Charlie, we read you loud and clear. We're going to intercept the target, standby until further notice Bravo."

"Roger."

Scarlet clicked off his comm and nodded to Nadir. They both picked up their rifles and stood to attention as they waited for the target to approach.

...

"Come on! The ship is just this way!" Ruby turned her head to see if everyone was keeping up with her. Tukson fell a couple paces behind the group as Velvet and Blake were right behind her. The gunfire slowly died down as more Grimm started to show up in great numbers.

‘We have to leave before the Grimm close down the docks-’

The sound of metal crashing broke her out of her thoughts as she turned towards the commotion. The sound came from over the wall to her left accompanied by heavy footsteps. Ruby looked ahead and noticed an intersection that connected to the other side. The alleyway they were in was narrow and didn't provide that much cover if they were caught in a gunfight. She didn’t want to take that chance; she sped up and ran along the wall to her right, with the last step she pushed off and vaulted over the wall- raising her fist.

“This is Charlie we're-” His speech was cut off as punched him in the face.

“Scarlet! You-” Nadir raised his rifle at the younger girl.

Ruby recovered from the fall and back flipped away from the armed man, kicking his gun upwards. Nadir staggered back from the impact while Ruby closed the distance between them as her feet touched the ground. He tried to swing at the approaching assailant but missed as she spun on her heel and brought up leg and kicked him square in the chest, sending him back. Nadir regained his footing and pulled out his knife, he didn't waste a moment as he charged at Ruby who stood in place.

She stood unwavering as he closed the distance, in a blink of an eye her gaze shifted upwards as she stepped to the side; barely avoiding the blade. Ruby caught the gun in midair just as he was turning around to face her, with a loud smack he was knocked off his feet and landed with a thud. She looked at the gun for a moment before she dropped it to the floor, she heard footsteps approaching behind her and turned to face them.

“Hey? Are you okay?” Blake came out from the opening holding up the revolver while glancing around for any other enemies.

“I’m fine, it's nothing serious.”

“Still I think we should bandage your arm before you get an infection.”

“Wait, why?” Ruby immediately examined her arms, noticing a cut on her left. “Oh this? It should be okay in the next hour or so.”

“We should still disinfect it, Tukson has a med kit back on the ship.”

“Where is Tukson anyway? Weren’t they with you?” Ruby looked behind the ebony haired girl for the burly man or for the brunette.

“After they saw you go over the wall, he said that they were going to get the ship ready so that we can make a fast exit.”

Ruby glanced at the unconscious bodies before she turned to face Blake, “Let’s not keep them waiting.”

With a nod Blake turned and ran down the alleyway with the crimsonette in tow. It didn't take them long as they were in sight of the massive hanger door, Blake took a quick glance around to see if they were being pursued but instead saw Ruby lagging behind.

“Hey! You okay?” Blake shouted as she stopped in her tracks.

“It’s- nothing, just give- me a second,” Ruby said in between breaths. “I’m sorry- regeneration takes a lot of-”

The shorter girl slumped forward, Blake caught her before she fell.

“I can see that, here I'll carry you back.” Blake said as she picked up the crimsonette, carrying her with one arm under her legs and the other supporting her back.

“I can- make it back on my- own. I’m not- that fragile.” Ruby argued.

“I’m not doubting your capabilities, but I think it would be more beneficial if recover faster.” Blake said as she took off towards the ship. She stole a glance at the girl in her arms and saw Ruby fiddling with the pin that was attached to her bracelet. Her eyes were emitting their silver glow as her breathing calmed down to a slower pace.

“Hey, are you regenerating using your powers?” Blake asked as she entered the hanger bay.

“Yes I am- please be quiet. This takes- a lot of concentration for- it to work.” Ruby said in a quiet tone as she closed her eyes.

“Alright, but you're answering my questions after all of this.”

“Fine.” Was all she said before she went quiet. Blake approached the ship as the ramp lowered for her, with Tukson waving over to them. Velvet closed the ramp and activated the thrusters, slowly lifting the scavenger ship from the hanger and out into space. Blake left Ruby in the Med Bay and sat at the controls at the bridge helping the brunette with navigations.

“Where to?” Blake questioned as she started up the FTL drive.

“We’re going to fulfill our end of the bargain Blake, how much further until we're in range of the next jump point?” Tukson answered as he sat across from Blake.

“A couple more kilometers, Blake punch in the coordinates for Kairo Station.” Velvet said as she steered the ship.

“Are you sure about this? What if Adam doesn't hold up his end?”

“Don’t worry Blake we’ll get through this.” Tukson reassured.

Blake sighed as she inserted the coordinates into the computer, “Setting course for White Fang outpost Kairo.”

The engines powered down as they went into FTL, with the trio hoping that they all can leave the dreaded terrorist group and their insanity.

Chapter Text

Ruby felt like something was off. She was laying in something soft and heard a continuous beeping sound to her right. She sat upright as she opened her eyes, and realized she was in the Med Bay laying in one of the many beds. She noticed a couple of sensors that were attached to her right arm and quickly peeled them off. She propped herself up off the bed only for Blake to step into the room holding a small bag.

“You’re already awake? Thought you might be out for another hour.” Blake took a seat next to the crimsonette, gently setting the bag on the bed.

“What happened while I was out?” Ruby asked.

The ebony haired girl gestured towards the seat next to her, “Nothing much happened, we're just jumping to a station.”

“Grimm occupied or something else?” Ruby took the offered seat.

“It’s occupied by… the White Fang. We will only be there for a short while.”

“White… Fang?” Ruby looked at the faunus in confusion.

“Jeez, just how much did you miss during your sleep?”

“It seems like a bunch if everything you mention doesn't make sense to me.”

“All you need to know about the White Fang is that they’re a group of radical protesters. A group that we’re leaving after this trip is over.”

“What are they fighting for?” Ruby raised a brow.

“Faunus Civil Rights, and they've been fighting for years. Against both humans and Grimm.”

“So why do you want to leave? Aren't they fighting for your rights so that you can have a better life?”

“Their idea is great but their way of obtaining it is obscured. They use violence over words and harass anyone who says otherwise.”

Ruby let out a small whistle, “Is that why you want to leave?”

“Precisely. Tukson and Velvet also wanted to quit so we all made a deal.”

Ruby said nothing as she listened, but she kept her eyes on the ebony haired girl.

“The deal was that we were given a barely functioning ship and few supplies. We couldn't get any help from other faunus as we scrounged up lien units. We were supposed to gather up 600K to pay off the debt, and ever since we’ve been salvaging wrecks and taking on odd jobs.”

“How long were you doing this for?”

“Four years, would’ve been five if you didn't show up.” Blake picked up the small bag and unzipped the top.

“What’s that?” Ruby asked as her eyes were drawn to the contents.

“This is-” Blake took out a small machine with two sensors wired up to it. In a fluid motion she attached the sensors to Ruby’s temples and flicked the switch, “-a lie detector, remember what I said before you went unconscious?”

“What the regeneration or… oh right.”

“Don’t bother about removing the sensors, one false move and you’ll be shocked.” Blake said as she adjusted the settings on the device.

“Great, just great. Will I be able to ask questions of my own?”

Blake didn't respond as she finished up, “Alright first question, who are you? What’s your name?”

‘Shit, even without the lie detector she was still terrible at lying’

“I used to be a pilot for the Alliance but you know what happened to them. I’m a weapons tinkerer and mechanic on the side.”

“Uh huh, and your name?” Blake asked with a brow raised.

“I-I'm Summer.” She could already feel the sweat beads forming on her face as she looked away from the cat faunus.

Blake on the other hand noticed the younger girl's predicament.

“Are you sure? You have some time to change your answer.” Blake said with a smirk as her gaze fell on the machine.

“Fine! Just don’t shock me,” The crimsonette took a deep breath before continuing, “I’m Ruby, Ruby Rose.”

“Ruby? As in the wanted criminal?” Blake looked at her in confusion.

“Y-yes, I think. Wait I'm wanted?”

The ebony haired girl reached out and grabbed a tablet from one of the tables. She typed something before handing the device to the younger girl. It was a bounty notice with her name at the bottom, however the picture was hand drawn. It looked like an older version of her with longer hair and a scar? Some of the features were off but what bothered her the most was-

“My nose doesn't look like that at all! I swear they made it too big.” Ruby pouted as she continued to stare at the screen.

Blake tried to suppress a chuckle at the smaller girl's display, but something about Ruby’s pouting face was adorable to the taller girl.

“If you think that's bad, you should see the previous ones.”

Ruby’s face reddened with embarrassment as she gently put down the tablet.

“N-no thanks.” Ruby cleared her throat as she tried to change the subject, “S-so any other questions?”

“Just one more, who's Kali?” Blake’s face went serious at an instant.

The smaller girl's eyes widened at the mention of the name, her embarrassment now replaced by curiosity, “How do you know that name?”

“You mentioned it while you climbed out of your ship, now tell me- How. Do. You. Know?”

Ruby looked away once more, occasionally glancing back only to be met with Blake’s gaze. “She was a friend of mine during the academy. Since then she's been in the same squad as me along with her husband.”

Blake’s gaze didn't falter, and she was about to speak up until the door opened with Tukson stepping through.

“Blake, we're nearing the station. Get suited up.”

The cat faunus sighed as she stood up, “Alright, give me a second.”

She quickly peeled off the sensors and packed up the small bag. Once she was finished she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Blake… do you mind explaining yourself?” Ruby asked.

Blake turned her head and gave the smaller girl a small smirk, “Thanks for answering my questions.”

The crimsonette watched the taller girl exit the room with a shocked expression- Tukson however was chuckling in the corner.

“Oh man, she got you with the fake detector too didn't she?”

“Shut up Tukson.” Ruby said coldly as she buried her face in the nearest pillow.

The burly man stopped chuckling as he took the seat next to her. “Come on, it was a little bit funny.”

“What do you want?” Ruby’s words came out muffled through the pillow.

“Besides asking what happened between you two, there is one thing I need to know about you.”

“And that is?” Ruby looked up from the pillow.

“What’s in it for you? Why are you helping us?” His tone lowered as he stared at her.

The crimsonette let out a small sigh, “To be honest, I’m just along for the ride. I’ve got nowhere else to go so might as well make myself useful.”

“And after? What are you going to do after this deal?”

“You mean once you’re free from the White Fang?”

“Yes, once we are free what will you do?”

“I’ll continue to tag along, I’ve got nowhere else to go.”

Tukson sighed before continuing, “Okay, but promise me this. Promise me that you'll protect Blake once I'm gone.”

“Blake? Wait what do you mean ‘once you're gone’?” Ruby shot the faunus a curious look.

“There's no doubt in my mind that the White Fang will just let us go. They would cut us off if they can't use us anymore.”

“But what about the deal? Didn’t they say that they’ll let you go if you pay them?”

“Blake didn't tell you the other half of the deal, did she? There was a huge catch- if we couldn't pay the amount or if we gave up then we’re forced into their ranks without any complaints. That's why they set such a large goal. That's why they gave us a barely functioning ship and a skeleton crew to boot. They wanted us to fail.”

Ruby sat there in silence as she didn’t know what to say. To work for a goal using any means… just for it to be yanked away just as you're in reach- she was familiar with that feeling.

“I know I'm asking for much, but please- promise me that you'll protect Blake.” Tukson pleaded.

“What about Velvet? Out of the two she seems to be the most vulnerable.”

“Unlike Blake, I know that Velvet wouldn't do something reckless. That damn girl is more of a danger to herself than those around her.”

Ruby said nothing as she tried to process everything, and after a while she nodded and looked straight at Tukson, “I promise that I’ll protect Blake. I promise that I’ll do everything in my power to keep her safe.”

“I’m counting on you.” He said with a smile.

---------

Knock Knock Knock

“Five more minut-” Yang grumbled as she pulled the covers up.

Knock Knock Knock

“Ugh fine, I'm up.” Yang sat upright in her bed and rubbed her eyes. She reached over to her scroll and opened the door. Yang was surprised to see Ciel enter, holding a large metal box under her right arm.

“Good afternoon Xiao Long, I take it that your nap was pleasant?”

"Hey Ciel... what's with the box?"

"Ms. Schnee wanted you to have this, she said something about Rose?"

Yang stood at attention as she looked at the box with curiosity, “Um, just leave the box on the desk. I can take it from here.”

“Are you sure? Ms. Schnee also mentioned that she was on her way here after her meeting.”

“Yeah… wait why is she coming down here?” Yang raised a brow at the tan girl.

“I’m not sure, but you can ask her when she does arrive.” With that Ciel took her leave, and Yang hesitantly made her way towards the metallic container as she tried to speculate what Weiss had left.

She opened up the box and reached inside, pulling out a couple of tablets and one weirdly shaped glove.

“What on Remnant-” Yang picked up the glove, carefully examining the odd shape. Her hand traced along the bracelet, ghosting over the indent until she felt the pin.

“I see you know about them too.” Weiss said as she entered the room.

“Know about who?” Yang stepped away from the box, carefully eyeing the white haired girl.

“Don’t play dumb with me Xiao Long, you know about their existence too.” Weiss stood next to the blonde bounty hunter, “The silver eyed warriors, or more specifically, Ruby Rose.”

Yang froze in place as Weiss picked up one of the many tablets, quickly typing something before flipping the screen over to show the blonde. The screen displayed a picture of the crimsonette at a younger age, along with a complete bio and references.

“How did- how do you- who else knows of this?” Yang said in fear as she reached for her personal shield and shotgun.

“Only Ciel and I- I thought it was best to limit the amount of people who knew about this.”

“What do you want from me?”

“It’s simple, you have information that I want and you want information that I have. I propose a trade.” Weiss clasped her hands behind her back.

"A trade? What do you possibly have that I want?"

"Information regarding Miss Rose herself, leads on her whereabouts, and- most recently- news about her kin."

"You're bullshitting me, how do you know all of this?"

"If you wish to know how, then I assume that you want to collaborate?" Weiss said with a smug look on her face.

Yang stood there hesitantly, biting her lip and turning towards the white haired girl, "Alright, we'll do this your way. What do you want from me?"

"What is your relationship with Ruby Rose? Back then, you seemed determined to find whatever was the source of the distress signal."

'Shit, why do they always start with the hard questions'

Yang cleared her throat before continuing, "She's- she's my older sister... please don't mention this to anyone."

Weiss' eyes widened from the revelation- at first she thought she was just after the bounty placed on her head but this was something that she wasn't expecting. Still by the look in Yang's eyes, she wasn't lying about it either, "Do you mind telling me how you're related? Last time I checked Miss Rose had black hair tipped with red, along with her silver eyes."

"We're sisters that share the same father, okay my turn. How do you know that Ruby has kids?"

The white haired girl didn't say anything as she reached into the box and pulled out a communicator. She adjusted the frequency and handed the device over to Yang, "This is-...-ar I repeat we hav-...-firmation that Rub-...-se has a chil-". Static took over as Yang placed the communicator down on the desk.

"Where did you find this?" Yang's gaze didn't leave the device.

"It was on a frequency that the Resistance uses- the Grimm usually tracks these frequencies as well but they don't listen in on them." Weiss answered.

"But why? I mean, couldn't they get the upper hand on them if they did?"

Weiss took a deep breath before continuing, "Would you waste resources and time to listen to idle chatter and gossip or would you simply track the source of the signal and take it out?"

"Well, if you put it like that..."

"Exactly, I believe that it is my turn now. That glove you were holding, what is it?" Weiss went over to the box and picked up the gauntlet.

“I don’t have much experience with it personally but my father told me about what they are. Those gloves have a special bracelet attached to the wrist, and they serve as a limiter.”

“A limiter? Why would they need that?”

“From what my father said, those born with silver eyes give off a weird presence. Besides having their eyes glow, their presence is enough to send shivers down your spine. That’s how they’re able to hide within society- how most of them just disappeared from the face of the galaxy.”

“But they need this gauntlet to do so, and if that’s the case how come the Grimm haven’t searched people who wore these?”

“Not every glove needs to look the same- they can come in different models or shapes.”

“Interesting, so if what you’re saying is true then this makes searching for them a little bit easier.”

“I hope so. I just hope that they’re still alive before the Grimm find them.”

---------

“This is Velvet, requesting clearance to land.”

“This is Kairo Station, request granted. Welcome back.”

The brunette turned off the comm as she pulled the ship into the station. The station was located in a desolate asteroid field, with the closet sign of civilization being several jumps away.

“Here we are, remember the plan Blake?” Tukson asked as he unstrapped himself from his chair.

“Yeah, let’s just hope that it doesn’t have to come to it.” Blake unfastened her harness and stood up from her seat.

The ship hovered over an opening before slowly descending into the asteroid. Lights illuminated the tunnel as the top hatch overhead closed. The entire ship shook as it landed. The vents in the tunnel hissed as the room pressurized, letting air fill the room. Blake and Tukson waited by the ramp, the ebony haired girl taking one last look back and catching a familiar shade of red enter the maintenance shaft. A loud buzz echoed the tunnel as the vents stopped hissing, and Velvet then lowered the ramp that led onto the landing pad.

“Ready?” Tukson asked as he holstered his pistol.

“Ready.” Blake answered back as she holstered a pistol of her own.

The two stepped out onto the landing pad, the door connecting to the tunnel opening up and a small group of soldiers stepping out.

“It’s good to see you again, Blake.” A man with red and brown hair stepped away from the group. He was dressed in a greyish uniform with tints of red in the outfit, and he wore solid pieces of leather that covered the side of his thighs with a pistol holster attached. He wore a white mask with red markings that covered the top half of his face.

“Adam, it’s been a while.” Blake replied, keeping a distance from him.

“What brings you here? Unless it’s to discuss about the deal?”

“That’s exactly why we’re here. We have the money to pay off the debt.” Tukson joined in.

“Really? Well let’s see it inside, we can discuss this further in my office.” Adam gestured towards the door.

Blake looked hesitantly at Tukson before stepping through the door, the burly man following soon after with the soldiers escorting them. They strode through the white corridors, their footsteps echoing in the halls.

“Where is everyone?” Blake asked as she scanned around for signs of life.

“They’re getting prepared for the next raid. They’ll be back soon enough.” Adam replied sternly.

The group entered a large room with a circular desk in the center. The guards stood at the door while Adam sat down at the desk. Blake and Tukson stood in front of the desk, waiting for the bull faunus to continue.

“So you said that you can pay off the debt? Can you show me?”

The taller girl took out her scroll and typed something on the screen. She placed the scroll on the desk and turned the device around- the screen read 600K lien units.

“We fulfilled our end of the bargain, Adam.” She said as she stepped away from the desk.

“I see, and did you get any help from any faunus?”

“None, not a single one helped.” Tukson answered.

“Interesting, quite interesting. Are you sure you want to leave? You had four years to think about it. It would be quite a waste to let such a talent be for nothing.”

“I’m sure, goodbye Adam.” Blake said as she turned towards the door. Tukson followed behind the ebony haired girl, only for them to be stopped by the guards.

“I’m sorry my love, but I'm afraid that I can't let you go. You’re too much of an asset to us with your abilities- you just need to see it.” Adam said as he stood up, drawing his pistol and aiming straight at Blake.

“So that's how it is, huh? I knew that this would happen but I didn’t want to believe it…” Blake muttered.

“Will you submit quietly or are you going to be forced to join us, Blake?” Adam said coldly.

Blake stood there in silence with her hand on the holster, “How about I choose the third option?”

The lights flickered as the panels overhead opened up, turrets emerging from the opened spaces as the doors around them closed except for the one behind Blake and Tukson.

“How about you let them go?” A voice called out from the speakers.

Blake and Tukson ran through the door as plasma hailed from the turrets. Adam ducked behind his desk as his two guards were sprayed. The bull faunus peered over the counter to see the door sealed.

"Someone shut down the defense systems! Now!" Adam ordered over the comm.

"Hehe good luck with that, halfwit!" The voice said before clicking off.

The turrets clicked as they ran out of ammo, the barrels hissing as the heat radiated off the metal.

Adam stood up from his ruined desk, plasma bolts streaked the the room as almost everything was torn apart. He gritted his teeth in anger and slammed his fist down on the table, breaking a part of the desk in the process.

'They will pay, they will all pay for their crimes'

Chapter Text

A few minutes before

Ruby watched the two faunus wait by the ramp as she crept into the maintenance shaft- if Tukson was correct, there should be a way out of the ship without being spotted by the other White Fang. Even from the shaft, she heard the ramp opening and footsteps echoing off the metal plating. She heard several voices as she slipped through the emergency hatch and onto the landing pad. She hid behind the landing gear until the door slid shut, and once she’d glanced around for any guards she made her way towards the opposite door.

She waited on the side as the door opened, after which she peered into the corridor and crept inside before the door closed. She didn't know what disappointed her the most: the fact that the base was so deserted or that their defenses were obsolete. She shook her head as she looked at the schematics of the base.

'If Velvet is correct-'

She turned the corner and entered a side room. The room was full of monitors and in the center was a guard in a chair. The crimsonette snuck behind the guard and brought the back of her smg against their head.

“That takes care of that-” she walked over to the console and plugged in her cord, “-and now phase two.”

Ruby watched from the monitors while occasionally glancing at her gauntlet- she impatiently tapped the desk with her index finger as she waited for the hacking to finish. Her screen lit up as it displayed the entire station's schematics along with several primary systems.

"Velvet, I'm in." Ruby activated her comm, "What am I looking for?"

"You should be able to access the defense grid, and from there you can override the door controls along with the turrets that are available."

"Done and- done!" Ruby unplugged her gauntlet and refocused on the monitor. "Hey, Velvet? Who's the guy with the red hair?"

"That's Adam Taurus, he's one of the leaders of the White Fang. He's ruthless towards the human race, regardless of whether  they're supportive or not of faunus."

"Sounds like a jackass. Wonder if he's-" Ruby stopped as she watched the red haired man draw his pistol on Blake.

"-m sorry my love-" Was the only thing that she heard through the monitor. Ruby made a gagging face as she activated her gauntlet.

"Even acts like one, too." She muttered as she powered up the turrets in the room, her eyes flickering over to the microphone to the side and an amusing thought came to mind. She listened in on the conversation with her hand over the microphone.

“How about I choose the third option?” Blake said.

Ruby took her cue and activated the turrets along with the speaker, “How about you let them go?”

The smaller girl watched the room light up with plasma and sealed the door the moment she saw that Tukson and Blake had made their escape.

‘That takes care of that, now let's-’ Ruby had started stepping away from the desk until she heard an angry voice over the speakers.

“Someone shut down the defense systems! Now!”

Ruby looked back towards the screen, where she saw the red-haired man fuming in the center of the room. She couldn’t help but laugh at his expression as she went back and activated the microphone, “Hehe good luck with that, halfwit!”

The crimsonette pulled out her smg and sprayed the console with plasma. She stepped out from the room and bolted down the corridor. She stopped around a corner as she heard approaching footsteps and readied her gun.

'Four soldiers, no wait five'

Her grip on her smg tightened as she rolled from her cover and out into the hallway. She caught all of them by surprise as she squeezed the trigger, beams lighting up the corridor. Three of them dropped to the floor while the other two tried to duck for cover. Ruby recovered from the roll and pressed her back against the wall.

"W-we have an intruder on the seventh block, requesting reinforcements now!" One of the soldiers called out.

Ruby used a column as cover as she peered over- with a smile she activated the doors, trapping the two soldiers in the hallway. She stepped out from her cover and pulled up the station's schematics.

"Alright, I should be able to meet up with Blake and Tukson if-" her conversation was cut short as several shots whizzed past her. She ran behind another column and closed the doors between her and the guards. "Great, there goes that plan."

She looked back at the schematics once more before looking up towards the ceiling vent.

"It beats running into more guards."

Her footsteps echoed throughout the corridor as she pulled her pistol up to her chest. She glanced behind her for any guards as she turned the corner, silently praying that Velvet was okay. Although they had Ruby hack into the system from the security room, she was still scared that they would send guards to keep them from leaving.

Blake pulled up a map from her wrist watch and turned another corner, finding herself in front of a locked door. The light by the handle glowed red.

"Hey, Ruby? I'm at one of the gate controls, can you open the door?" Blake kept glancing behind her, the grip on her pistol getting tighter by the second. Static invaded the comms until a familiar, cheery voice spoke up.

"Give me a sec Blake." The ebony haired girl could barely hear her voice over the static.

"Are you alright? Do you need help?"

"N-no I'm fine! Just trying to-"

The faunus was about to speak up until the door next to her clicked, and the light turned green.

"Thanks."

She raised her sidearm as she entered the room, her eyes adjusting to the darkness and making her way towards the console. The screen lit up as she sat down, sparing no time as she overrode the security systems.

"Velvet, you there?" Blake called, "I opened up the hangar doors, what's your status?"

"Blake? The doors aren't open, they're still closed!" Velvet answered.

"What?!" The ebony haired girl scanned through the terminal, searching for the source of their problem. "Dammit, there's another console that has access to the hangar doors."

"Where?"

"Near the station's reactor- can you get in touch with Tukson?"

"I'll try my best, but head back to the ship- I think they sent a patrol down to the hangar bay." Velvet warned before she cut the comms.

'Great, they just had to make things complicated'

"There they are, get them!" One of the guards yelled as several shots echoed throughout the corridor. Tukson ducked behind one of the columns and fired his pistol at the growing crowd, dropping two of them.

The faunus growled in irritation as they began to fire back, cornering him. Sparks flew around him as he shot back occasionally, and as he was reloading an energy clip he heard a metal grate move above him. Just as he saw the grate drop to the floor Ruby fell from the ceiling with her smg raised.

"What the-" the rest of his voice was drowned out with the sound of gunfire, shouts ringing out as bodies dropped to the floor. Ruby emptied a clip into the guards before dashing towards one of the columns- she didn't seem fazed at all as they shot at her. Her gauntlet lit up as she pulled up the schematics once more, the lights above flickering before bursting and shrouding the room in darkness. The guards shielded their eyes from the shattered glass projectiles.

As their eyes adjusted to the darkness, they advanced on the crimsonette's position with their guns raised. They peered around the column but found nobody there, and immediately they searched around and noticed that Tukson had vanished.

"Where the fuc-" The guard’s speech was cut short as the door in the hallway suddenly closed with a loud hiss. The guards saw the other door close with the crimsonette and the other faunus standing on the other side of the metal door.

"Hey, Tukson? Do they have oxygen masks with their uniforms?" Ruby asked as she was accessing through her gauntlet.

"No, the only time that they wear them is when an outer relay gets damaged and-"

"Good enough for me." She said as her gauntlet lit up once more.

"Warning, section B-17 is depressurizing for unknown leakage." The speakers announced before clicking off.

"You're one cold motherfucker, you know that?" Tukson muttered as he followed behind her in the corridor.

"Hey, it was either us or them... on the bright side, at least that saved us a couple clips." She retorted as she broke into a jog.

Their footsteps echoed throughout the hallway until they turned the corner and were met with yet another group of guards, prompting Ruby to shut the entire hallway off and depressurize those who were trapped inside.

"How many more guards do they have?" Ruby asked as she looked through the station's schematics to find another route. "They're bound to run out... right?"

"I think that you might need to ventilate the entire station, then." Tukson said as he looked around- with Ruby cutting off so many hallways, they could only get so far before being cornered.

"Velvet said that there's a console by the reactor... how do we even get into there?"

"Hmm..." Tukson hummed before he looked up. If memory served him right, then that would mean- "I could get in using the maintenance shaft."

"What?"

"There's an emergency maintenance shaft that could get me into the reactor. I can get to it from here but I'll need you to distract the guards."

"Tukson, that's crazy. Why don't you tell me where to go and I'll sneak through and-"

"There's not much time left- if we wait any longer they'll swarm the hangar. Besides, I need you to make as much noise as possible away from here."

"I'm not going to let you go off on your own, you'll be killed!"

"It's better if it's just me than if we lose everyone."

"Bullshit. Don't you dare start talking like you're going to die! We’re all going to get out of here alive ." Ruby stated.

"There's no chance. If we both go then we'll be cornered by the time we get back, and if you go then I'll be swarmed by all the guards before you return."

"But- what about Velvet? What about Blake?!"

"Do you remember your promise?" Tukson asked.

"Of course I... you knew, didn't you?"

"..."

"You knew that someone was going to die, and you didn't tell-"

"I thought there was a small chance that they would let us go. It wasn't until after we ran from the office that I knew someone has to stay behind."

"Fuck. That. I’ve got most of the station's controls under my command, not to mention that I can take them all on."

"But what about Blake? What about Velvet? What will happen to them when they get caught in the crossfire?"

Her mouth opened but nothing came out as she realized what Tukson was trying to say.

"You're giving them a chance to live, aren't you?"

"Those two don't need this old man slowing them down, but you can keep them safe."

Her fist clenched as she broke eye contact with the feline faunus. "Alright... I'll go."

A small smile formed on his face, "Thank you, this means a lot to me."

"Before you leave-" Ruby unclipped her ammo pouch and tossed it along with her smg to the older man.

He said nothing as he looked at her in confusion.

"-you said to steal a gun for you, technically it counts." She elaborated as the corners of her lips turned up.

Tukson nodded as he climbed into the maintenance shaft. Ruby watched him go before she went over to one of the closed hallways and pressurized the room. Bodies were sprawled all over the floor, several clutching at their throats. She walked over and picked up the nearest rifle and fired it against the wall, watching the yellow laser streak the white walls with black dots.

"Huh, apparently the VMI Tavor was improved." She muttered to herself as she scavenged for spare magazines from the rest of the corpses. "Alright then, let's make some noise!"

"Sergeant, what's going on down there?!" Adam shouted as another camera was destroyed.

"Sir, there's this- girl who's been picking our squads off one by-" His speech was cut short as he heard a gunshot echoing through the comms.

"Worthless idiots!" The bull faunus fumed as he turned off his comms. "Every last one of them."

"Having a bad day, huh? Told you that you should've just let them go." A small gray-haired girl muttered as she entered the ruined office. She was accompanied by a larger man with brown, spiky hair and a short beard. He also had a pair of bat wings on his back.

"Trifa, Yuma, I'm glad you two decided to show up."

"Please, you wouldn't have called us unless you couldn't handle it." Trifa retorted as she sat on the desk. "So, what do you want us to do?"

"It seems that Blake had a fourth member on her ship- I want you to figure out who they are while Yuma and I head to the reactor."

The small girl snorted, "You want me to identify a random person while you take Yuma on guard duty? You know what, fine. I'll do it."

"Trifa..." The brown haired man warned with a low voice.

"Hey, it beats guard duty. Have fun." She said before patting him on the shoulder and leaving the room.

"Are you sure that it is wise letting her go like that?" Yuma asked as he faced the bull faunus.

"I'm confident in her abilities to take down one intruder, and in the meantime you and I are going to check on the reactor. They already disabled one of the control consoles, so they're bound to get to the next one."

"Right away, sir."

...

Ruby fired into the crowded hallway as she stepped into an empty room- she fired in bursts, mostly to ensure that her shots hit their targets. Another body collapsed onto the metal floor, smoke hissing from their chestplate. The crimsonette fired another burst before activating the suppression system in the hallway, white smoke shooting out from the vents above and enveloping the guards.

She ran out and sprayed the hallway, dropping two more guards as her clip emptied. She ducked behind a column and reloaded before she continued firing. One of the guards ran forward as two others fired, suppressing her with plasma. Ruby responded by sliding into the middle of the hallway and bringing up her rifle, her first burst dropping the charging faunus while her next blew off another guard's head.

"You wretch!" The last guard shouted as they aimed at the exposed crimsonette.

Ruby was already on her feet before they fired, chucking her rifle and knocking back the guard. The red-clad pilot closed the distance and brought up her right hook, landing a solid hit to the face. The punch knocked off their helmet as they stumbled back, glaring eyes shooting back at the crimsonette as they raised their rifle. Ruby spun on her left heel and kicked the rifle out of their hands with her right- in the next second she delivered another punch to the gut.

The guard crumbled to the ground as the crimsonette picked up the discarded rifle and fired a shot at the fallen guard. Blood splattered on the ground as Ruby picked up a couple more magazines. Just as she was about to leave she noticed a gray-haired girl standing in the middle of the hallway, arms akimbo.

"So you're the intruder, huh? Much cuter than I originally thought." She said as she stepped closer.

The crimsonette said nothing as she aimed at the newcomer, who raised their hands defensively.

"Easy, just wanted to talk." She confessed as she stepped closer.

"Who are you?" Ruby questioned with a stern tone.

"Sounds cute, too." She muttered to herself before she cleared her throat, "How about we play a game? We take turns asking each other questions."

'I don't have time for this' Ruby thought to herself.

"Only two questions- now shoot." The crimsonette replied.

"Alright, first... are you a human or a faunus?"

"Human."

"Okay, give me a sec-" The gray-haired girl raised her left hand as she activated her comms, "-hey dipshit, the intruder is a human... uh huh... yeah- no have fun with that."

The faunus let out a small sigh as she turned off her comms, "Sorry about that, my boss wanted me to figure out if you were a faunus or not."

Ruby said nothing as she raised her rifle once more.

"In my defense he said to "identify", not take care of." She retorted.

"Right, I guess it's my turn. Who are you and what's your goal?"

"That's more then one but I'll let it slide- I'm Trifa, special agent galore. And what I'm doing is talking to you because I know well enough that I can't beat you."

The crimsonette let out a sigh as she lowered her gun, "Okay, what's your next question?"

"Are you single?"

"... what?"

"I said, are you single?" Trifa asked as she stepped closer.

"Yes...?" Ruby answered hesitantly.

"Awesome, so what's your last question?" The faunus asked as she stepped away from her.

"What's the quickest way to the hangar bay?"

"You have a map, right?"

The red-clad pilot nodded as she pulled up the schematics. After Trifa highlighted a route, she waved goodbye and walked down the hallway.

"Wait, where are you going?" Ruby called from the end of the corridor.

"Job's finished, so I'm going back to my bunk. I'll see you around, Red!" Trifa shouted back.

"How are you so certain that we'll meet again?"

"Call it instinct- hope you’re still single when we meet again!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

Tukson peered into the room from the vent, waiting a moment before pulling the metal grate open and dropping down into the room. He let out a sigh of relief at the empty room, and he strode over to the terminal and scanned through the security systems for the gate controls.

"Blake, I'm at the gate controls. What's your status?"

"I'm almost at the ship, Ruby called in and said that she's making her way there."

"Alright, I'm almost-" His speech was cut off as a loud bang echoed throughout the room. He felt a searing pain in his back before his legs gave out.

"Well, look who it is."

Tukson didn't need to turn around to know whose annoying voice it was as he clutched onto the terminal.

"Tukson Burgundy, once chief engineer and now a traitor to the White Fang." Adam bellowed as he kept his pistol raised. "What a pitiful sight you have become."

"The only thing here that needs pity is your delusional ass." Tukson muttered as he held himself up.

"You all were the best and yet you all wanted to leave! Our best engineer, our best pilot, AND our best specialist all wanting to defect , and because of what? A few disagreements with how we did things?"

"Tukson? Are you there? Say something!" Blake's voice entered the comms.

'I'm sorry everyone, but this is where we part ways'

Tukson watched the screen flicker before he turned around to face the bull faunus. He quickly noticed several guards that stood behind him with their guns drawn. "How you do things are just disgusting- do you even realize how many people you've sent to their deaths all because of your personal vendetta?"

He watched the red haired faunus' face scrunched up as he carefully reached for the smg attached to his belt.

"What I'm doing is ridding the universe of all those who oppress us: the faunus who are superior to the worthless human race!" Adam snapped.

"All you're doing is sending innocent lives to the grave to finish your petty revenge."

"Their sacrifices will help our cause in the near future, just like your daughter did." The bull faunus added with a smirk.

The feline faunus felt his muscles tense up as he heard those words, and he let out a sigh as he activated his comms.

"The gate is open- don't wait for me, you hear!" Tukson hissed as he pulled out Ruby’s smg and fired. Plasma sprayed from the barrel as everyone ducked for cover, several shots ricocheting off the walls while a few hit some of the guards.

'This is for all of you-, I hope that you make the most of it'

It wasn't long until Ruby saw the entrance to the hangar bay- she closed off the doors that connected to the hallway that she was in just as she ran through. She sped through the white corridor until she collided with something, and felt herself get knocked back as her back hit the metal floor. She groaned as she tried to prop herself up off the ground.

"That's going to hurt later." Ruby muttered before she sat upright, quickly noticing the thing she ran into- or rather, that ran into her. "Blake?"

The cat faunus stood to attention as her name was called, "Ruby?"

"Yep, come on we need to-"

"Can you open these doors? We have to go back!" Blake pleaded as she went over to one of the doors.

"Wha- no! Blake, we have to get out of here!" The crimsonette objected as she put her hand on the ebony haired girl's shoulder.

"We have to go back! We can't leave Tukson and-"

"Blake! There's nothing we can do- there're guards swarming this place, not to mention that the reactor is on the other side of the station!"

"We can't leave him to-" her speech was interrupted as the door in front of her hissed, white sparks flying off the metal.

The red-clad pilot grabbed her by the arm and dragged her back to the hangar bay. "Dammit, Blake! We've got to go!"

The ebony haired girl said nothing as she looked back at the door before reluctantly running after the shorter girl and onto the ship's ramp. The two ran onto the bridge, where the bunny faunus was stationed.

"Start up the FTL drive- they're right outside the hangar." Ruby said as she sat in the co-pilot seat next to Velvet, quickly strapping herself in.

"Where's Tukson?" Velvet asked as she inserted new coordinates into the nav computer.

"He's... staying behind." The crimsonette said softly as she gripped the controls.

"What?!" The brunette shouted.

The ship was already hovering over the landing strip as it retracted its landing gear. It slowly lifted itself out of the hangar bay and into the asteroid field.

"FTL drive is charging- we got bogies inbound!" Velvet called from her controls as she refocused.

Blake watched her console light up as several red blips appeared on-screen. "They won't let us go that easily. We’ve got four fighters, closing in on port side."

"Not for long- Velvet, how much longer until we can jump?" Ruby asked as she activated her gauntlet once more.

"One more minute. Those fighters are closing in fast, and they'll be all over us in thirty seconds."

"Shit, weapons are offline." Blake swore as she strapped herself in with the harness. "Brace yourselves, they're-"

An explosion shook the bridge as everyone held onto their seats.

"Dammit, damage report!" Velvet shouted.

"We're green, no damage to the hull." Blake responded.

"Then what was-" The brunette stopped as she looked towards the crimsonette.

"The station's defenses will buy us some time." Ruby said as she pulled the lever down.

The ship directed itself towards the emptiness of space as the engines hummed. Moments later the ship entered FTL, leaving the White Fang station in turmoil.

Chapter Text

"Coming out of FTL in three, two-" Ruby said as the ship shook as it entered the vastness of space. She let out a sigh as she slumped back into her chair, she didn't like the quietness but she couldn't do anything about it. After the first jump, both Blake and Velvet left the bridge while the crimsonette was piloting the ship. It was their seventh jump and she still hasn't seen the two faunus.

But she couldn't blame them, she knew what it felt like to lose someone close. She refocused back towards the Heads Down Display, noticing that the FTL drive was overheating.

‘Damn, I was hoping we could jump at least once more but I guess this will have to do’

The smaller girl powered down the engines before she unstrapped herself and stretched. Maybe she should recheck the internal wiring, Blake did mention that their weapon systems were offline. Ruby set the ship to autopilot before she strode towards the maintenance shaft. She grabbed a toolbox from the storage room and continued on her route.

The hatch creaked as she opened up the maintenance shaft, the tunnel illuminated in a red glow from one of the emergency lights on the wall. She went to work on the severed cables, reconnecting power conduits to essential systems. Once she was finished with her repairs she made her way towards the exit, just as she was reaching for the handle the hatch opened up with a brunette standing on the other side.

"Uh, hi?" Ruby asked as she rubbed the back of her head.

"C-can I talk to you for a moment?" Velvet questioned.

"Sure, let me put away this first." The crimsonette said as she raised up the toolbox.

"Okay, meet me on the bridge when you're finished."

"Alright." The smaller girl quickly ran to the storage room and left the toolbox where she found it. Once she entered the bridge she found the bunny faunus in the pilot's seat staring aimlessly into the void of space.

"You wanted to speak to me?"

Velvet nodded as she gestured towards the empty co-pilot seat next to her.

"What's this about Velvet?" Ruby questioned as she sat down.

“It- it's about Blake. I need your help with her right now Ruby.”

"Why, what's wrong?" The crimsonette asked with a brow raised.

"She... hasn't left her room at all after the first jump. I've been trying to get her out but she locked the door."

"Okay... so how do I come into this?"

Velvet let out a small sigh before she continued, "Can you reach out to her? You probably have more experience with coping with death, at least more than I have."

"You lost someone before?"

"I lost my mother before I enlisted in the White Fang, and afterward I lost a few friends while they raided supply ships."

"That's... I'm sorry for your losses."

"Don't be, it happened a long time ago. Besides knowing you, you've probably seen more death than I have."

Ruby didn't answer her as she glanced over her shoulder towards the hallway, "Alright, I'll see if I can talk with her."

"Thank you, Ruby." Velvet replied as she took control of the ship.

The crimsonette got up from her seat and made her way towards Blake's room, she stood outside the metal door before she raised her hand and knocked. She heard something behind the door but couldn't make out what it was so she knocked again.

"Go away..." Blake's voice was quiet as Ruby strained to hear what she said.

The smaller girl let out a sigh as she knocked once more. When she didn't get a response she pulled out a cord from her gauntlet and inserted it into the terminal next to the door. The moment the door opened she stepped inside and locked the door behind her.

"I told you to go away Velvet," Blake muttered.

Ruby quickly noticed that the ebony haired girl was still in her bed, facing away from her and towards the wall.

"Sorry, I don't have bunny ears." The crimsonette replied as she sat on the far side of the bed.

"Ruby? How did you- never mind just leave me alone." The cat faunus mumbled.

"Not going to happen, Blakey, you're stuck with me."

"Leave. Now." Blake's voice was hoarse as she turned to face the smaller girl. When she did, the crimsonette quickly noticed that her eyes were red and puffy- not to mention the faint tear streaks down her cheek.

"No, I'm not leaving until you tell me what's bothering you."

"Please. Leave..." Her voice trailed off as she broke down into tears.

Ruby instinctively sat closer to the cat faunus and wrapped her arms around her, "Just let it all out, it's going to be oka-"

"Okay? It's going to be okay?!" Blake broke the embrace before she sat straight up, rage flashed in her eyes as stared at the crimsonette. "How can anything be okay when everyone you know is going to die!"

The silver eyed girl shrunk back from the outburst as the faunus cornered her.

"It's always like this... you make friends with someone only to watch them die soon after-" Her breath hitched before she continued, "-all because I wasn't strong enough to protect them."

Blake's shoulders hunched as more tears streamed down her face.

"I'm scared Ruby, I'm scared that everyone that I know is going to die- that they're going to fade from existence all because I couldn't do anything abo-"

The ebony haired girl was cut short as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist. The crimsonette pulled her into a tight hug, effectively silencing the cat faunus as she rested her head on her shoulder.

"Shh, it's okay Blake," Ruby reassured as she rubbed circles on her back. "I'm not going anywhere."

They stood there in silence before Blake returned the embrace, minutes past by until the two separated.

"I-I should probably go help Velvet and-" The crimsonette stammered as she began to back out of the room.

"P-please, can you stay?" Blake pleaded as she held onto her arm.

"Um- uh- I-" Ruby sputtered as she rubbed the back of her head. Silver eyes locked on with Amber until the crimsonette let out a sigh, "Okay. If it will make you happy."

Weiss nervously tapped her foot against the metal floor as she waited for the screen to light up. She received a message from Klein that her father wanted her report on the Spectre's progress since then she's been waiting in the communication center for a couple of minutes. She had Ciel take command while she asked Yang for any leads on the Silver Eyes.

It was strange really, how one hired gun became an essential part of her plans to locate any silver-eyed warriors. Ever since they had their discussion, they've been going over any leads that came up- more specifically any leads regarding the ship that took out the Grimm Feilong. A loud beep snapped her out of her musing as she refocused on the screen in front of her.

The black screen lit up as an older white-haired man was shown, he had a large mustache and azure blue eyes.

"Ah Weiss, it's so good to see you again." His tone was cold and held no emotions as he made eye contact.

"Father," She addressed as she bowed, "You wanted my report?"

"Yes, of course. Admiral Ironwood would like to know how the Spectre is doing under your leadership."

"I'll send my report to him as soon as possible."

"And one more thing Weiss, I heard from the authorities that you ventured out into Grimm Space?" His tone shifted as he glared at her.

"Yes, it was a rash decision but-"

"That's all I needed to hear, I'll ask Ironwood to send you more escorts due to your incompetent leadership."

"Yes, sir."

"One last thing, Ciel sent me a rather interesting report about a certain myth."

"Has she now? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to trouble you with my hobbies."

He let out a sigh before he continued, "I see, at least we got that out of the way. I already sent Ciel our current progress on the new machines that are in development along with new dust mine locations. You'll meet up with the escorts at Reuniune Relay, I hope you'll use them well."

Weiss nodded as the screen went dark. She stepped out of the room, only to be greeted by a familiar blonde who was leaning against the wall.

"Hey, how did the call go?" Yang asked as she stood upright,

"It could've been better, I'm sorry but can you tell Ciel that we're changing course?"

"Why, what's going on?"

"We're getting reinforcements at the Reuniune Relay."

"Wait, the Reuniune Relay? That's great!"

It was Weiss' turn to be confused as she saw how excited the bounty hunter was, "Great as in how?"

"I have a contact there, we can get more information when we stop by."

"Will you introduce me to them? I might want to ask a question of my own."

"Sure, as long as you pay him- he'll answer anything."

"Anything?"

"Well, anything that doesn't involve him or his business." Yang replied while sheepishly rubbing the back of her head.

Weiss raised a brow at that comment but didn't reply.

"Anyway, I should probably tell Ciel that we're changing course, see you then!" The blonde bounty hunter waved before she strode down the hallway.

The white-haired girl stood awkwardly in the hallway before she made her way towards her room. She closed the door behind her and grabbed the tablet that was sitting on her desk, pulling up the emails that her father had sent her.

"Let's get this over with."

She didn't know how long she was out when she heard knocking from the door. She only grumbled as she snuggled into her pillow, a few more minutes shouldn't hurt. Her pillow felt blissful as she wrapped her arms around it, pulling it closer to her body. The knocking came back, which finally made the cat faunus open her eyes. She held her breath as she saw how close Ruby's face was to her's.

The younger girl was sleeping soundly next to her with her arms wrapped around her waist. Blake felt her face heat up as she realized that she also had her arms around the crimsonette. She tried to back away, only to bump against the wall behind her. The cat faunus internally swore as she tried to distract herself from staring at the cute girl in front of her.

'Cute? I just called Ruby cute, haven't I'

Her question went unanswered as the younger girl began to stir, she felt slightly relieved and a bit disappointed when they separated.

"How-" a yawn escaped her mouth before Ruby continued, "-long were we out?"

"I'm not sure," Blake replied as the knocking came back, "Maybe we should go see what Velvet wants."

The crimsonette nodded as she made her way towards the door, once she opened it she was greeted with a very upset brunette.

"Do you mind explaining to me why it took you so long to answer the door?" Velvet questioned.

"Sorry, I was helping Blake. Is there something you need?" Ruby replied.

"Yes actually, we have a problem." The brunette said as she entered the room, "One of our energy cells are leaking, if we don't get that replaced then the whole ship will explode."

"Shit, can I take a look?"

The bunny faunus nodded as she gestured towards the door. In the next moment, the younger girl was out of the room, leaving the two faunus alone.

"How are you holding up Blake?" Velvet asked after a short amount of time.

"I'll live, hopefully." Blake answered as she got out of her bed.

"You should wash up, you look like a mess right now."

"Okay, give me a couple of minutes." The cat faunus stepped out of her room and entered the bathroom.

...

"It's a lot worse than you think Velvet." Ruby said as she sat down in the co-pilot seat.

"What do you mean? We'll find a replacement part at a nearby station and-"

"I don't think that's a good idea, those cells are outdated. The chance of finding one is slim, I think we'll have better luck buying a new ship altogether."

"Do we even have enough lien for that?" Velvet asked with a brow raised.

The younger girl said nothing as she typed something into the console, Velvet's screen lit up soon after with her staring at the display with wide eyes.

"H-how did you get this?" The brunette asked hesitantly.

"Stole it off the White Fang, might as well put it to use."

"Put what to use?" Blake asked as she entered the bridge.

"We're deciding on buying a new ship, maybe one with more up-to-date technology." Ruby answered.

"And I'm saying we should just replace the power cell, it'll be much cheaper and-"

"Maybe we should buy a new ship Velvet, this one won't be putting up much of a fight if it keeps on relying on patchwork." The cat faunus said as she sat at her terminal.

"B-but if we- ugh fine." Velvet swiped the screen away as she activated the FTL drive. "Where's the nearest station?"

"Reuniune Relay, we should be able to get there before the power cell combusts." The crimsonette answered as she inserted the coordinates.

"Are you sure about this?" Velvet looked behind her towards the ebony haired girl for confirmation.

"I'm sure." Blake replied.

"Alright, to Reuniune Relay."

Chapter Text

"Station coming into view in t-minus forty seconds," Velvet announced as she steered the ship towards the relay. "Docking permission has been granted- we're green to land."

"Great timing, too. Any longer and the ship would've detonated," Ruby replied as she unbuckled her harness. Before she stepped out of the bridge, her attention was drawn to all the ships that were orbiting the station. "Uh, did something happen or is it normal for stations to have this many ships protecting it?"

Blake looked up from her terminal and noticed the large vessels that they passed, "Schnee? What are they doing all the way out here?"

"Gesundheit," The crimsonette replied, which earned her odd stares from both faunus. "What?"

Velvet said nothing as she focused her attention back to landing the ship while Blake realized her confusion.

"Ruby, what I meant was Schnee as in Schnee Robotics. They're one of the Grimm's main suppliers in terms of machinery and technology."

"Schnee, Schnee, why does that sound familiar..." The smaller girl tried to recall as she strode down towards the Cargo Bay.

"Hey! Where are you going?" The ebony-haired girl asked as she unstrapped herself from her seat.

"To the station, I want to see the see the new shops and all." The crimsonette answered without breaking her stride.

"You're not going out looking like that! The Grimm would arrest you if you were wearing that out there."

"What's wrong with my outfit?" Ruby asked as she inspected her jumpsuit.

"Besides it being old, it still has the Alliance Logo on the back," the cat faunus explained as she followed behind the young pilot. "You'll be recognized as a Resistance Member instantly."

"Okay, but I don't have any spare clothes." Ruby countered.

"I think I might have some that may fit. Velvet, can you look for a new ship while we're gone?" Blake questioned before she stepped off of the bridge.

"Sure, just text me what kind of preferences you want and I'll see if they have anything close to it." The bunny faunus replied as she waved them goodbye.

The crimsonette immediately took off as the cat faunus strode into the hallway. It didn't take long for the ebony-haired girl to enter her room, but what she didn't expect to see was a naked girl standing in the middle of her room. Thankfully Ruby was facing away from the flustered faunus, otherwise she would've passed out from the sight before her.

After a few seconds of gawking at the crimsonette, Blake finally snapped out of her trance as she cleared her throat.

"You know you could've changed in the bathroom... or somewhere else with more privacy." The cat faunus mentioned as she tore her gaze away.

"Why? We're both girls right?" Ruby asked as she kept searching through the drawers.

"It's not that, it's... never mind."

"What? What's wrong?" She questioned as she turned to face the faunus.

"It's nothing," Blake answered as she tried to change the conversation, "So... having trouble looking for clothes?"

The smaller girl let out an exaggerated sigh as she stepped away from the drawers, "Yep... can you help me, Blakey?"

"Sure I can- did you just call me Blakey?" The taller girl asked as she raised a brow.

It took a moment for the diminutive crimsonette to realize what she said, "Oh... um, sorry. If calling you that bothers you I can-"

"No, it's just... surprising, that's all." The faunus reassured.

"So... you're fine with it?" The smaller girl asked as she cocked her head to the side.

"I don't mind- as long as I get to call you something," Blake added with a smirk.

"Fair enough," Ruby replied as she pulled out a black scarf, "Ooh, this looks nice!"

"Here, go put these on and see if they fit in the bathroom," She handed the small girl a handful of clothes.

"Thanks, won't take long!" The crimsonette chirped as she disappeared into the bathroom.

The ebony-haired girl shook her head as she strode over to the discarded clothes on the floor and piled them on top of her drawers.

"We'll be touching down shortly, ma'am." The shuttle pilot announced.

Both Weiss and Yang stood up from their seats and held onto the overhead handles. Weiss wore a white coat over her uniform with grey leggings and a pale blue belt, a holster attached to her left leg and accompanied by a sidearm. Yang was outfitted with a leather jacket that hid her chest plate, and she wore gauntlets along with plated shoulder pads. Her signature shotguns were attached to her belt as she tapped her boot repetitively against the shuttle's floor.

The ship shook as it touched down onto the landing pad, the doors opening with a loud hiss as they stepped out onto the strip.

“Welcome Miss Schnee, we have been expecting you.” A female officer said as she bowed.

“At ease- I believe my father informed you of our current predicament?” Weiss asked as she approached the middle-aged woman.

“He did. We have several Corvettes in orbit waiting for your orders.”

“Good, we’ll set out in a couple of days. The Spectre needs to be resupplied along with repairs to the hull.”

“Consider it done.” The officer said with a nod.

The duo continued towards the edge of the landing pad, where a hover car was waiting for them.

“Where to now?” The white-haired girl asked as she closed the door behind her.

“There’s a bar towards the edge of the station- the owner knew Ruby and he was the one who gave me a lead on her.” Yang answered as she sat down before the car began to move.

“This… owner, is he your contact?”

“He is, but don’t bust him or anything. He used to work for the Alliance as a supplier but nothing worse than that.”

“I’ll say nothing- if you trust him then I will, too.” The white-haired girl assured as she stared out of the window.

“Thanks… hey, can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“Do you... think that we’ll find her?” The blonde bounty hunter questioned.

“We’ll find your sister- if anything, we’re getting closer to finding out where she is, what with all these leads we’ve been getting.”

“You never did tell me who your contacts are.”

“That’s classified. All we know is that the ship responsible for taking out the Feilong was a scavenger ship. From the reports that we got from the Grimm officers it was only one ship, and it used an old Alliance Navy Fighter to lure them into a trap.”

“Yeah, and we salvaged what we could from the fighter. It was heavily modified but with all the identification scans, it showed that it belonged to Ruby herself.”

“Which begs the question, where did they find it? When we find that ship we'll get the answers that we need."

The hover car stopped just right outside the shopping district, the two girls stepped out of the vehicle and entered the crowded streets.

"Are you sure this is the right way? Couldn't we have gone another route?" Weiss asked as she pushed past several pedestrians.

"I'm sure. The only way in is from the elevators on the ground floor." Yang answered.

After a few minutes the crowds began to lessen, and the two girls continued their way until they entered a small plaza. Shops surrounded them as neon signs illuminated the streets. Right as they turned a corner someone slammed into Weiss, causing the white-haired girl to stumble backwards. Yang caught her before she hit the ground.

The person who bumped into her was a small girl about the same height as Weiss. She wore a black jacket and a gray shirt with a black scarf wrapped around her neck. She had dark brown hair with red highlights at the ends, and her eyes were covered with a pair of sunglasses.

“Sorry! Are you okay?” The younger girl asked as she scratched the back of her head.

“Watch where you're going, you dolt!” Weiss fumed as she glared at the newcomer.

A few minutes earlier...

"We'll be back soon, Velvet- Ruby went to check out the stores." Blake said as the two strode down the street.

"Alright, I'll finish loading up the new ship. Try and behave on your little outing." Velvet replied as she turned off the comms.

The cat faunus shook her head as she followed the energetic crimsonette through the shopping district.

“Thanks again for the clothes, Blake.” Ruby said as she faced the taller girl.

“It was no big deal. It would’ve been more trouble for the both of us if you wore your uniform.”

“Still, thank you. You know, for keeping me around and all…”

“As I said before, without you we probably would’ve been scavenging wreckages, so what you’ve done for us has been enough.” Blake reassured.

The diminutive crimsonette said nothing but flashed a small smile at the ebony-haired girl before turning around. As they passed by a couple shops, Ruby couldn’t help but sneak occasional glances at the ravenette and her attire.

The faunus wore a black leather vest with a purple undershirt. She had black leggings and boots with a holster fastened to her side. The younger girl caught a glimpse of her revolver in the holster and let out a small sigh of relief that Blake remembered to bring it.

“So, Ruby- you mentioned that you’ve been here before?” The cat faunus asked as they passed another clothing store.

“A couple times before... I knew a guy who owned a bar here. Used to hang out there whenever the fleet had to resupply or refuel,” the pilot replied as she ran further ahead. “I wonder if he’s still around…”

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”
“Yeah, I guess-” The crimsonette stopped in her tracks as her gaze was fixed on one of the large structures in the distance.

Blake noticed her behavior and stopped right beside her with her hand gripping her revolver, “What’s wrong?”

“No way, he actually did it!” Ruby exclaimed as she started to take off down the street.

“Wait, Ruby!” The cat faunus called out before she immediately covered her mouth. She glanced around to see if anyone had noticed her slip up, thankfully no one around her had paid any attention. She let out a sigh before she looked glanced around for the crimsonette. Blake couldn’t spot the familiar shade of red as she searched the streets.

“Dammit Rose, where did you run off to?”

…

“Watch where you’re going, you dolt!” The white-haired girl hissed as she glared at her.

“I was just trying to-”

“I don’t want to hear your excuse, just get out of here and stay out of my way you child.”

“Hey, I said I was sorry you spoiled brat.” Ruby barked.

“What did you just call me?” Weiss took a step forward as her blonde companion let out a small snicker.

“You heard me, or is your ego so large that you can’t hear an insult?” The younger girl retorted.

"How. Dare. You! Do you even know who you're talking to, miscreant?!"

"I don't need to know any more short snobs in my life." The crimsonette answered, earning her another glare from the white-haired girl.

"S-short?!" Weiss' face was red with anger. "We're both the same height!"

"You're wearing heels." Ruby pointed out, and she swore she saw steaming coming out of the angered girl’s head.

Before the “short” white-haired girl could say anything, Yang stood in front of her with her arm stretched out.

“Alright, break it up you two,” The bounty hunter said as she faced Ruby, “Listen, we’re sorry for running into you- but you also need to watch where you’re running. Who knows what you’ll run into next time.”

The young pilot eyed her before she spoke, “Apology accepted. I was just rushing to visit an old friend.”

“Yeah, I understand. I was going to introduce Princess over here to a friend of mine as well. He works in that building over there.” The blonde pointed towards a large glass pyramid in the distance- several antennas stuck out from the sides as spotlights lit up the sides of the structure.

The crimsonette’s eyes widened as she saw where she pointed, “No way, your friend is at Snake Eyes as well?!”

“Wait, you’ve been to Snake Eyes?” It was Yang’s turn to be confused, as she’d visited the bar enough times to know all the regulars but never had she once seen this girl.

“Well not recently, and certainly not when it upgraded. Last time I saw it was when it was a club.”

“Really? They remodeled the building four years ago."

"Did they? I wonder if the prices got more expensive-"

"Wait, you're old enough to drink?" The blonde raised a brow.

"No, I'm sixteen. It was still expensive to buy a soda, though." Ruby answered with a pout.

"Why were you at a bar then?" Weiss asked.

"Because my parents dragged me along with them when they wanted to throw a party.”

Yang let out a whistle, "I can't believe that the owner even let you in."

"Eh, I was an exception. Soon after, we became best buddies... mostly because I helped him lug drunk people out of the bar."

"Damn, maybe I can get a free drink from him if I do that..."

"Maybe next time. Shouldn't we get going? We don't have long until the fleet is finished resupplying for our next trip." Weiss interrupted.

“That’s right!” Yang recalled, “Say do you want to come with us and grab a drink?”

“I would but-” The crimsonette glanced around, realizing that Blake wasn’t behind her, “-uh, actually, I should also go. I think I lost my friend.”

“Did you, now? Well I hope that you find your friend.” Yang said as she waved goodbye, “See you around.”

“Bye!” Ruby chirped as she waved back to the white and yellow duo who began walking down the street.

As Weiss turned around, she noticed something about the crimsonette’s glove as she was waving. The glove was attached to a weird looking bracelet, and both the glove and the bracelet were black with silver markings. Before she can give it any more thought, though, the two turned the corner and lost sight of the younger girl.

The diminutive crimsonette watched them leave before turning back the way she had come. She didn't get that far when she felt herself being pulled into an alleyway, a hand covering her mouth.

"Shh," Blake whispered as she glanced from the alley.

"What are you doing?" Ruby muttered when the ebony-haired girl removed her hand from her mouth.

After a couple of minutes, Blake let out a sigh before she faced the crimsonette.

"Ruby, do you know who you were just talking to?"

"No? Was I supposed to?"

"You were talking to a Schnee, and you insulted her in the middle of the shopping district!"

"Why does it matter? She was acting like an uptight bit-"

"It matters because they have the power to arrest anyone with little to no reason. The Schnees can literally call the Grimm to take you away just for looking at them."

"What? They can't do that... right?"

"It didn't stop the head of the Schnee family- he hates the faunus and prosecutes most of the population just for being near him."

"He sounds like a racist."

"He is, and you just insulted the heir of the family." The faunus added.

"...Oh."

The taller girl let out a sigh, "I don't think what you did was wrong, but you need to be wary of those who you're talking to."

"But what if-"

"Just don't- it'll be better if you let things slide."

The smaller girl said nothing as she looked away from the cat faunus- she saw the glass pyramid in the distance and an idea came to mind.

"Hey, Blake? I'm sorry." Ruby said as she turned back to face the faunus.

"For what?" The taller girl asked as she raised a brow.

"For causing unwanted trouble. Here, let me make it up to you." The crimsonette replied as she took Blake's hand.

"I'll treat you to a drink! I know just the place!" Ruby said before she dragged the cat faunus out into the streets.

"This is the place?" Weiss questioned as she took in the sight before her.

"Yep." Yang said while popping the "p".

"Are you sure? This place seems so..."

"Unlike me? Yeah, it's fancy as hell but it also treats regular customers on the lower levels."

"Where's the entrance?"

"Oh, there isn’t one. Junior wanted the place to only use elevators to access each level. There are emergency stairs in case the power goes out, though."

"Wouldn't there be a problem if there was a fire on one of the levels?" The white-haired girl asked.

"Eh, not really. The entire place is built out of steel and reinforced glass- and even if there was another shootout on one of the floors, their shots wouldn't be able to break the glass."

"Wait, another shootout?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know." Yang stated as she made her way towards one of the elevators.

Weiss stepped into the elevator before the blonde bounty hunter pressed one of the buttons. The elevator rumbled for a moment before the doors opened once more, revealing a black and white room with bright lights illuminating the chamber. There were many black tables, including a large bar in the corner. Several servers pushed around carts that carried bottles of wine or alcohol while a large man occupied the main bar.

He wore a black suit vest with a white shirt, a red tie hanging around his neck as he served a glass to a patron. The duo stepped out and made their way towards the large man. As they passed several patrons, Weiss noticed a couple Grimm guards in one of the far corners of the room with three beowolves standing guard nearby. Most of the guards had their helmets on but she saw a brown-haired man talking to a red-haired girl with a blonde guard standing behind her.

It didn't take them long to reach their destination, and after the bartender served another glass he noticed the two and let out a loud sigh.

"Blondie, you're here... why?" He asked as he stood in front of them.

"Junior! Just the man I wanted to see," Yang answered with a wide grin. "So, anything new on the grid?"

The black-haired man shook his head before he continued, "There is, but you still haven't answered my question."

"I came to visit since I was in town. Plus I wanted to know if you have anything new regarding her ."

"I see... well, try not to make a mess. We finally finished repairing the room you wrecked last time and I’d rather not repeat that again."

"Got it," The bounty hunter replied with a nod, "So, you said there was something new?"

"Yep- have you heard of the Grimm ship that was attacked out by the border?"

"Yeah, I was there to see the damage for myself."

"Really?"

"Yeah, we arrived after the battle to see the wreckage and- wait, how do you know?"

"Not everything can be hidden, even with the Grimm trying to cover it up. Since that rumor sprang up, Resistance groups all over Remnant have been trying to find out who did it."

"Gee, and I thought we were the only ones to know of that."

"We?" Junior asked until Yang gestured towards Weiss, "Ah. Since when were you friends with a Schnee?"

"It's a long story. I'm still surprised that the news about it was spreading around."

"No kidding, but after a little investigating I found something..."

"Oh? What did you find?"

"It might help with your search, but I'm not sure. Do what you want with this." Junior said as he slid a small chip across the table towards Yang.

She caught it and inserted it into her gauntlet- she brought up her display and pulled out a pair of transparent glasses from her jacket.

"Yang? Why are you watching a video about Atlas News?" Weiss questioned as she stared at the display.

"Give me a sec." Yang replied as she slipped on a pair of wireless earbuds. A moment later her eyes widened before she faced Junior with her mouth wide open. "Where did you get this?"

"Lips are sealed Blondie, you know how business works." The black-haired man answered as he went back to work.

"Yang, what's wrong? What was on that video?" The heiress asked as she shook her arm.

"Here, just watch it yourself." The bounty hunter took off the glasses along with the earbuds and offered them to her.

Weiss slipped on the glasses and watched the screen shift from the newscast into a static, "What am I supposed to be seeing right now?"

"Hold on, let me rewind it."

The screen shifted once more, this time showing a man dressed in a black uniform with a white mask over his face. "Yang? Is this a-"

"Grimm officer- the same one from the Grimm ship we rescued back then."

"I don't believe it, what is this broadcast?"

"Just keep watching."

"They were... surrendering? I don't understand, what's the point of this?"

The blonde didn't answer her as the bounty hunter rolled her eyes, but a few seconds later Weiss saw what was so interesting about the transmission. "No way."

"Yes way, the girl we bumped into earlier was-"

"She's a Silver Eyed Warrior?!" Weiss muttered under her breath.

"Yep, I feel like an idiot for not realizing it sooner." Yang said as she rested her head in her hands.

"We have to search for her- if she's still on this station, then we can find her."

"Where would she be? She could already be off the Relay and- wait, she said that she was going to meet an old friend here. We have a chance to find her!"

"But what floor would she be on? We don't have the slightest clue where she would be."

"I don't know, but I'll ask Junior if he can help. I'll be right back."

The heiress watched her walk off as she sat on the stool. The shock from the revelation was still fresh on her mind as she tried to think of multiple ways of trying to find the crimsonette. She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice someone approaching from behind.

"Excuse me, but are you Weiss Schnee?" A male voice called out.

The white-haired girl snapped out of her musings as she turned to face the man behind her, "That is me, and you are?"

"Pardon my manners, but I'm Cardin. Cardin Winchester. My family owns this Relay." The brown-haired man replied.

"Okay? What do you want?"

"Would you like a drink? I've heard that this place serves the best whiskey."

"I'm fine. My friend and I were about to leave, anyway."

"Come on, your family owns one of the biggest companies in the world. You can tell your crew to wait."

Weiss glared at him after that comment- she respected her crew and there was no way in hell she'd delay their schedule just for a drink. Just as she was about to tell him off she heard something that caught her attention immediately.

"-ait here, Blake- I'll be righ-"

The room wasn't exactly silent as a few patrons were having discussions but out of the sea of voices she turned her attention towards the source of that comment. She didn't spot the familiar shade of red but rather she saw something else that surprised her: a faunus. A female cat faunus who sat in one of the booths on the other side of the room.

'Blake? Wait, the same Blake from the transmission? No, it can't be coincidental... but if she’s on the station she could possible be on the same crew and-'

"Excuse me, but I have something more important to attend to." Weiss said as she got up off the stool.

"What do you- oh, I see." Cardin said as he followed her gaze across the room, "Actually let me take care of it."

"What? No! I need to-"

The brown-haired guard didn't say anything as he made his way towards the ebony-haired girl.

"Hey! What are you doing here?!" He yelled as he approached the booth.

Amber eyes stared at the source of the commotion before she let out a loud sigh. "I'm here for a drink."

"Your kind doesn't belong here- you shouldn't even be here in the first place. Get out, now." He threatened as he placed his hand on his gun in the holster.

She didn't answer as she looked away.

"Didn't you hear me, you animal? I said-" He was interrupted as he felt someone's hand on his shoulder. When he turned to face the person, he was greeted by a crimsonette glaring at him with the force of a thousand suns.

"I'm sorry, but what did you call her?" She asked, her grip on his shoulder tightening.

...

"This is a horrible idea, Ruby." Blake said as they approached the glass pyramid.

"Hey, I said I was going to treat you- I'm not going to go back on my word."

"What if they kick me out?"

"Why would they?" Ruby asked.

"Because I'm a faunus! I don't know if you've been noticing but everyone around us have been glaring at us, especially the guards." The ebony-haired girl answered.

"I have noticed a few odd glares, but if anyone did call you out I would smack them."

"What if you get arrested for it? What would happen if they pulled a gun on you?"

"Easy, I'll smack them again. This time I'll make sure they'll go down." The diminutive crimsonette replied.

"You're impossible, I swear."

"In a good way?"

Blake didn't answer as she stepped into the lobby.

"Blake?" The smaller girl asked again as she followed behind the faunus.

The red and black duo entered the elevator and Ruby hit the top button. It didn't take long before the doors opened up, a large black room greeting the two. The crimsonette grabbed the ebony-haired girl by the hand and dragged her to one of the booths off to the side. One of the servers greeted them as they passed before they pushed a cart towards the center of the room. They sat in the booths, taking a seat across from each other.

"Hey, Blake? Do you want something alcoholic or do you want a virgin?"

"Virgin?" The faunus asked in confusion.

"Oh, that just means non-alcoholic- the owner knows how to make the best virgin cocktails!" Ruby chirped.

"Then maybe I'll have one, I wouldn't want to be buzzed before we head out." Blake answered.

"Speaking of which, where are we going after this? We don't exactly have a goal in mind..."

"I'm not sure- with the White Fang chasing after us, we've got to stay on the move for a while."

"It's not like they could do much with outdated equipment, although I do commend them for trying at least."

The cat faunus nodded in agreement.

"Could you wait here, Blake- I'll be right back with our drinks." The crimsonette said as she got up from the booth.

"Okay, just don't go overboard with the spending. We already spent most of our funds on the new ship with supplies."

"Got it." Ruby replied as she made her way towards the bar.

Blake watched her leave before she began to fiddle with her communicator- she already helped move most of her stuff onto the new ship, excluding her hoverbike that she used to get to the shopping district. She was about to call Velvet until she heard someone shouting to her left.

"Hey! What are you doing here?!" A man yelled as he approached her.

'Great, I knew this would happen'

The cat faunus let out a sigh before she spoke, "I'm here for a drink."

"Your kind doesn't belong here- you shouldn't even be here in the first place. Get out, now."

Her eyebrow twitched as she looked away. She really didn't want to deal with this right now.

"Didn't you hear me, you animal? I said-"

"I'm sorry, but what did you call her?" A new voice joined in on the conversation, causing Blake to turn towards the familiar voice.

The crimsonette was standing behind the brown-haired man with her hand on his shoulder.

"Eh, who are you, squirt?"

"I'm her friend, now answer the question. What did you call her?"

"Oh, don't tell me you support these animals. Their kind exist to serve us, seeing how the best they can do are failed raids from the infamous White Fang."

"I'm going to give you a chance to walk away- and although I admit that the White Fang are very disorganized, not all the faunus are terrible. Leave us before I beat your drunken ass out of this bar." Ruby threatened.

"Look at this, the little girl is into beastiality. Why don't you go back to your pet and leave before you stink up this plac-"

A loud smack echoed throughout the room as the guard crumpled towards the ground, clutching his gut as he went down.

"I gave you an out." Ruby stated as she stepped away from the Grimm guard.

"You. Bitch." Cardin said in between breaths. He stood up on shaky legs and drew his pistol, "You're going to pay for that-"

"Would you look at this, the little man got pissed and couldn't take a punch. Aren't you guys supposed to be the "top dogs" here, or did someone joke around me?" The crimsonette challenged as she took a step closer.

"Keep talking like that, brat, and I'll paint the walls with your brain-"

"Cardin Winchester! Stand down, now!” A redheaded woman called from behind. She pushed past all the guards and stood in between them, glaring at the guard as she approached.

“Specialist Nekos, why are you defending her? She assaulted an officer- she should pay for her actions.”

“The authorities will deal with her later- for now, control yourself before you do something you’ll regret.” The specialist warned.

With a growl he lowered his gun, in which the crimsonette smirked before she turned towards the red-haired woman.

“Thank you for stepping in-”

“You’re not out of this yet- guards, detain her.” The specialist ordered.

“Let’s not get hasty here, can’t you just let this slide?” Ruby asked as her hand rested on her holster.

“As much as I would applaud you for stepping up for your friend, assaulting one of our officers is a criminal offense that-”

A loud growl interrupted them as a beowolf charged straight at the younger girl. Ruby jumped to the side before the claw had the chance to strike her in the chest. The Grimm didn’t give her any time to react as it pounced at her, causing the crimsonette to roll underneath a table- knocking off her sunglasses that slid across the floor.

The crowd that was watching immediately backed away as they watched the mechanical creature tear through tables and chairs to reach the young girl. Pyrrha got away from the fight before she tried to shut down the rampaging machine.

“Dammit, why won’t it respond? Jaune, can you shut it down?!” The redhead asked as she turned towards her blonde companion.

“I can’t! It’s not accepting any commands.” He replied as he frantically tried to deactivate it.

“Why isn’t it- Cardin.” She muttered as she searched for the brown-haired guard, and when she spotted him she rushed over and grabbed him by his collar, “What the hell did you do?!”

“System malfunction, the beast went rogue and killed an innocent bystander.” He said with a smug smile.

“I can’t believe you! You would stoop this low just because of of one-”

Clang!

The sound silenced the room as everyone turned their heads towards the source. Eyes widened as they saw the crimsonette standing above the beowolf with a whiskey bottle in her hand. The label read Jack Daniel’s as black goo dripped off the bottle and onto the glass floor. Her back was facing towards them as she brought up the bottle and slammed it into the exoskeleton repeatedly. Dents began to form on the plating as the body jerked from each strike and the blue lights flickered.

“Finally- got a lucky shot in.” The young girl muttered as she popped the cork off and poured its contents on the beowolf’s head. Sparks flew as the whiskey dripped down, the body twitching as blue lights lit up for brief moments before dying.

The empty bottle clattered onto the ground, snapping everyone out of their puzzlement except for the ebony-haired girl who reached for her revolver.

“Ma’am, put your hands behind your head and turn around.” One of the drunken guards finally sobered as he raised his pistol. A couple guards got up from their seats as they drew their weapons on the black-clad pilot.

Ruby let out a sigh as she raised her hands up and turned around- as she faced the guards she spotted Blake who patted her holster while giving her a nod.

“Put your hands behind your head, now!” He demanded.

Silver eyes stared at the guard as she slowly lowered her hands, a sly smile present on her face as a mischievous glint flashed in her eyes. In one moment everything was calming down- the guards approached the crimsonette, pulling out cuffs from their belts and ready to restrain her- but in the next, all hell broke loose.

An audible chink was heard before the lights in the room began to flicker- the white lights shifting to the emergency red- leaving the room in a dark red haze. Besides the light that came from outside the windows, the only light that was apparent were the lights on the guard’s armor, the blue glow from the remaining Grimm, and two silver eyes that danced in the dark room.

Ruby charged at the three guards, gaining ground as they were disoriented by the darkness. The closest guard saw her silhouette and raised his gun- with her right hand Ruby grabbed his arm and raised it high. With that opening she jabbed him in his throat with her left hand, causing the guard to stumble back while choking. Before he could clutch at his throat, Ruby pulled out her revolver and jabbed the barrel in the same spot as she stepped forward. In one fluid motion she brought her sidearm down, dragging the guard with it until he slammed into the floor.

The guard to her left stumbled as she crashed into one of the carts before she drew her weapon on the younger girl- Ruby responded by kicking the same cart into the guard, causing her to fold in half as it collided with her. The crimsonette grabbed a wine bottle off the nearest table and brought it down onto the guard's head, knocking out the Grimm as the glass shattered and the contents spilled onto them.

The last guard had his gun trained on her and pulled the trigger, the shot grazing her arm as she rolled underneath one of the tables and turned it over to use for cover.

"I need reinforcements!" He yelled out as he cautiously approached the silver-eyed girl.

He stood a foot away from the table before Ruby stood up and swung a chair at the guard, knocking him off his feet as he crashed into several other chairs. A chime from the elevators caught her attention as more Grimm guards began to pour into the room. Blake turned over another table and ducked behind it as the guards began to fire upon the crimsonette.

"Kill her! She's a threat to everyone of us!" Cardin cried as he ran past a couple guards and into one of the elevators. The beowolves that were standing idly immediately focused on Ruby and began to charge as a couple Grimm guards took cover by the elevators.

"Blake, now!" Both the silver-eyed girl and the faunus drew their revolvers and fired at the approaching beowolves. Metallic bodies collapsed onto the floor as the two quickly disposed of the beasts. The remaining Grimm stood dumbfounded as they watched their death machines fall like paper. The remaining patrons who were watching the scene before them drew firearms from their coats and fired at the guards.

"For the Resistance!" One of them shouted as they shot at the remaining Grimm.

The room developed into a firefight as more patrons joined in. Weiss and Yang peered from behind the bar counter as plasma filled the room.

"How are we going to get to her past all of this?!" The heiress shouted over the gunfire.

"Dammit, the Grimm covered the elevators. I don't think we can even get out, even if we do get to her!" Yang yelled back as a shot shattered a bottle above them. Their shields protected them from the random projectiles.

"Well, we at least have to try!"

"No argument there, but how?!"

Weiss peeked over the counter once more, scanning the room for the crimsonette. She spotted her by the far side of the room, using one of the booths as cover while taking shots at the Grimm.

"I have an idea!" Weiss stated as she pulled out her sidearm.

"Well let's hear it, Princess." Yang replied, which earned her a glare.

...

"They covered the exits- how are we going to escape, Ruby?" Blake asked as she ejected the magazine and reloaded.

"There's one option, but-" the crimsonette stopped as she saw a flash of white and yellow, "-shit, we got a problem."

"What is it?" The faunus asked as she turned to face her.

Weiss and Yang were making their way towards the red and black duo, the white-haired girl using the blonde bounty hunter as a shield as they passed behind overturned tables.

"I'm running out of rounds, Ruby- we have to find a way to get out." The ebony-haired girl mentioned.

"I know, just give me a- wait, I got it! Blake, pull back the hammer on your revolver and wait until my mark." Ruby instructed as she aimed her revolver towards the window behind her.

The taller girl followed her instructions and aimed the revolver towards the same window. She looked back and saw the white and yellow duo were almost upon them, "Ruby?"

"Fire!"

Both revolvers emitted a bluish glow before discharging a bright beam that passed through the reinforced glass, leaving two identical holes in the glass. Soon after, cracks began to form from the holes until the entire window shattered.

"Now wha-" Blake didn't get to finish her question as the crimsonette grabbed her by the hand and jumped out of the broken window. She couldn't even hear her own screams as she felt the wind whipping by and her body falling.

Chapter Text

Blake felt the wind rush past her as the crimsonette dragged her out the window. Her mind couldn't process what was happening until her back slid against the glass beneath her, when her mind finally caught up to the present she found herself accelerating down the pyramid. A delighted shout caused her to turn her head towards Ruby, who was enjoying herself a little too much.

"THIS IS CRAZY!" Blake shouted over the wind.

"I KNOW! THIS IS AMAZING!" Ruby shouted back, as she accelerated further down the glass building.

Weiss and Yang both stopped at the broken window, watching the red and black duo putting distance between them.

"What's the plan Yan-" Weiss asked as she turned to her blonde companion, only to watch her jump out the window. The white-haired girl stood there dumbfounded as Yang didn't hesitate to jump out after them.

'Maybe I should take the elevator like a sane person' Weiss thought to herself as she looked towards the elevator, only to see the continued firefight between the bar patrons and the Grimm officers. She let out a sigh as turned back around and leaped out the window.

Both Blake and Ruby were nearing the bottom of the pyramid, the two jumped off the glass and rolled as they landed on the ground. They didn't waste a moment as they recovered from their roll and took off towards the streets. The blonde bounty hunter did the same and quickly chased after the duo through the crowded streets, Weiss however recovered from her roll a little too late.

She ran to the streets to where she spotted the familiar shade of yellow but stopped as she stared at the sea of people. The white-haired girl let out a tsk before activating her comms, "Hello? I need a shuttle here asap! And fetch my equipment too."

...

The cat faunus nearly ran over a pedestrian as she turned the corner, barely keeping up with Ruby who weaved through the crowd effortlessly. The said silver-eyed girl was also leading her through the market district, with several bystanders shouting profanity as they nearly crashed into them. Just as they turned the corner, Ruby activated her transmitter.

"Velvet! What's your status!" Ruby called over the comms.

"Eh- what do you mean?" The bunny faunus replied back in confusion.

"We're going to need a fast exit," Blake spoke up as she shoved someone out of her way, "Grimm are tailing behind us!"

"WHAT?! Where are you two right now?!"

"Passing through the market, how soon can you get the ship ready?"

"About an hour at most. Just stay alive until we can set up a rendezvous for extraction."

"Roger." Ruby said before she cut the comms. The two stopped and hid in an alleyway, Ruby ejected her cartridge and replaced it with a new one as Blake did the same. They both had to find a way to elude the Grimm until Velvet was finished with the ship preparations.

"Got any more plans, Ruby?" Blake asked light heartedly.

"Nah, unless you plan on being shot at." Ruby replied as she checked her personal shield, "Although, we have to move soon. They'll be sending out drones or guards to search for us."

Blake let out a small sigh, "Why did have to punch the guard Ruby?"

"He was insulting you! His behavior was totally uncalled for."

"That may be true, but it started this whole mess."

It was Ruby's turn to let out a sigh, "I know. And I'm sorry for causing you unnecessary trouble Blake."

"Make it up to me by learning to stop causing trouble, okay?"

"No promises, although I will try my best."

"That's a start, I hope."

Ruby rolled her eyes at her response, "So... any bright ideas?"

"Do you know any hideouts on this station? You've been here before haven't you?"

"A couple times, but I'm not sure if they changed anything when I was gone... wait! There is one place I know we can go to!"

Blake furrowed her brows in confusion.

"There's an old ship yard, it hasn't been in use for many years after the Dust Blitz in 2997. Unless the Grimm had overhauled the entire shipyard, it should be desolate... besides the thieves or bandits that may be hiding in there."

"It's worth a shot, how far is it from here?"

"Not far, if we run- we'll be there in a couple of minutes."

"Lead the way, Ruby."

"It's... east from here." The crimonette recalled, "Has a huge gate but there are cracks in the wall to slip through."

"Alright, let's-"

"Hold it right there!"

Both Ruby and Blake whipped their heads towards the source of whoever was shouting, only to see that blonde girl from the bar. Immediately they drew their revolvers at the bounty hunter, who held up her hands defensively.

"Hey, easy there."

"I don't think so," The silver-eyed girl said as she took a step forward towards her, "Either you scram now, or I splatter your brains against the wall."

"I just want to talk, that's it." The blonde-girl said as she stayed still.

"Why should we trust you?" Blake questioned.

"Because... because-" before Yang could answer and loud gunshot was heard behind the duo, Ruby's shield flared up as she suddenly lurched forward- her face transforming from surprised to irritated.

"There they are! Get them!" A Grimm guard shouted as they raised their rifles and began firing.

The alleyway was quickly filled up with stray lasers, all the three girls took cover by pressing themselves against the nearest wall.

"Dammit. Do you remember where to go!" Ruby shouted towards Blake, who answered with a shout of her own.

"Yes, but-"

"That's good enough for me!" The crimsonette replied as she ran and kicked off the wall, her shield absorbing the bulk of the shots until she scaled over the wall. The moment she vaulted over the wall she quickly fired at the guards, precisely landing head shots at the poor few that stood in the front.

"Get moving!" Ruby said as she returned fire.

The faunus said nothing as she ran past the blonde bounty hunter and into the streets, avoiding stray beams until she exited the alley. Yang muttered a string of curses as she followed the ebony-haired girl.

Ruby unloaded her entire magazine at the guards before she bolted away, hopping from rooftop to rooftop. She quickly ejected her chamber before she reloaded her revolver, she spotted Blake and the blonde girl following her.

'She's persistent' The crimsonette thought to herself as she aimed down at the bounty hunter, from this distance she would be able to at least cripple her-

Her instincts kicked in as she dodged to her left, narrowly missing a gunshot. When she turned around she saw the girl from before, the one accompanying the bounty hunter from the bar. The white-haired girl stared down at her from her shuttle as she raised her pistol.

"Freeze, I don't want to kill you." She said.

"Heh, fat chance." Ruby said as she slowly backed away, while keeping her eyes on the white-haired girl. Another gunshot stopped her as her shield absorbed the blow, knocking her back slightly.

"Last chance, surrender now."

"You must be fun at parties." The silver-eyed girl muttered, she was right at the edge of the roof- almost hanging off of it. The white-haired girl hopped off her shuttle and cautiously approached her.

"Got a name, short stuff?" Ruby asked with a mischievous grin on her face.

"If you speak one more time I'll taz-"

Before she could finish, Ruby fell backwards off the roof. Weiss ran towards the edge of the rooftop and saw the crimsonette running through the streets below, she let out a huff before she reached down to her heels. Her heels let out a hiss before she jumped off herself, Weiss boosted herself in the air- landing gracefully onto the street.

"Get back here you little brat!" Weiss shouted as she followed Ruby.

It didn't take long for the shipyard to be in sight as Blake hopped over a ruined metal fence. As she bolted towards the abandoned buildings she heard someone else hop the fence behind her, landing with a thud. She whipped her head around for a brief second and spotted the blonde girl tailing behind her. Blake immediately ducked into an alley in hopes of getting away from the bounty hunter.

As she ran down the narrow alleyway, a pair of metallic claws shredded through one of the walls as a beowolf stared right at her. Blake stopped immediately and turned to her left, which she faced a door. With a solid kick she opened the door and ran inside the abandoned building, entering the remains of what used to be a kitchen. She slid over the counter and drew her revolver as she aimed at the door.

Blake waited for the metallic beast to approach the door, her finger resting on the trigger. She felt the building shook as she waited for the beowolf to show itself, her ears flicked as she listened. The faunus heard footsteps coming from in front and to her left, her gaze flicked between the door and the living room to her side- waiting for whatever came out into her line of sight.

Several figures ran past the ruined door, all wearing the black uniforms that belonged to the Grimm. Blake ducked behind the counter, peering over the countertop as she waited for them to pass. Just as the last guard passed by the door, the wall that led into the living room was torn apart as a metallic bear stormed through. Blake dodged past the debris and she jumped to the side.

Blake aimed the revolver and squeezed the trigger, the barrel flashed as she shot the Ursa in its shoulder. The Grimm was fazed by the shot however it turned its head towards the faunus and let out a roar that shook the building. The ebony-haired girl rolled to the side as the beast clawed through her cover, she broke into a dash out into the alleyway as the Ursa began to chase her.

'What the hell! Shouldn't it be dead?!' She thought to herself as she turned down another corridor. She skidded to a halt as more Grimm guards appeared in front of her.

"Freeze! Put your hands in the air!" One of the guards demanded.

Blake backed up slowly as several of them approached her, one was taking out a pair of handcuffs while the rest had their rifles pointed at her. Once the guard with the handcuffs was in an arm's length from her, a spray of beams hailed on the Grimm guards from above. The faunus used this chance to take cover behind one of the many crooks in the alley while the guards were being shot at.

Before she could return fire, she heard a loud crash behind her- it was the Ursa that was chasing her, only this time it brought backup with it. Two smaller beasts stood to the side of the metallic bear, they both only had two legs and no arms yet they both had a large central core. Talk about being placed between a rock and a hard place.

The Ursa slowly approached the ebony-haired girl while the smaller Grimm opened their jaws, the cores began to glow in a dark blue light before a beam erupted from their mouths. The faunus ducked as the beam melted the wall behind her, while the second beam shot towards the rooftop. The blast destroyed the roof, debris scattering everywhere while someone was flung off the building- landing next to the ebony-haired girl.

"Fucking hell-" The person sweared as they got up from the floor, they brushed their blonde hair away from her lilac eyes.

"Y-you, you're-" Blake drew her revolver and aimed it at the bounty hunter.

"Wait-wait-wait chill!" Yang said as she raised her hands defensively, "I'm trying to help!"

"Help? You were chasing after us!"

Before the blonde girl could reply, a spray of lasers interrupted them- causing the two to duck behind the remaining cover.

"Can we continue this conversation after we get out alive!" Yang said as she raised her dual shotguns.

Blake weighed the opportunities before her, should she take up her offer and help fend off the robots with the bounty hunter or hope that she could escape while both the guards and metal beasts follow her- yeah she chose her option as she brought up her revolver and fired at one of the smaller Grimm creatures. Her shot connected, causing the beast to explode into many pieces of scrap.

"You take out the guards, I'll focus on the big bear." Blake said.

Yang nodded as she ran out of cover towards the guards, she raised her shotgun and squeezed the trigger- a flash of yellow erupted from the barrel as it fired. The faunus followed up by firing another shot, blowing off the leg of the smaller Grimm before she shot again- this time obliterating the head. The Ursa's eyes flickered before it registered that both machines were dead, it responded by snarling at the ebony-haired girl then charging straight at her.

"Bimbo! Watch out!" Blake yelled as she rolled to the side.

"Wait- what?!" Yang questioned as she turned around, her eyes widening as the bear was charging straight at her. The bounty hunter barely evaded the rampaging beast's charge as she jumped out of the way, letting the Ursa crash into the remaining guards. The beast collided with the Grimm guards, few were knocked away form the impact while the rest were killed by the crash. Either way, all that remained was the two girls and the Ursa- that was painted with a light coat of blood.

"Jeez, that thing doesn't care about friendlies huh?" Yang said as she slowly backed away from the metallic beast.

Blake didn't respond as she fired several more shots at the Ursa, each shot staggered the beast yet it didn't finish the job.

"Come on, come on!" The faunus muttered as she also took a step back, ejecting the cartridge from the revolver and inserting a fresh one. The bear swiped at the faunus shredding her personal shield into bits. Blake ignored the pain that came from the shield shards that scraped against her skin and fired a direct shot at the Ursa's face. The beam melted its exoskeleton as the shot passed through its eye, leaving a clear trail in the Ursa's head.

The metallic monster stood there for a moment before it fell over, making a loud thud as it fell into a heap of scraps. Both Blake and Yang stood there as they watched the light in the Ursa's only eye die. The two looked at each other for a moment before they sighed in relief. The faunus eyed the bounty hunter as Yang holstered both of her shotguns.

“So… that was a thing.” The blonde girl said, trying to lighten the mood between the two.

“Why are you here?” Blake asked, trying to understand why she helped her.

“Would you believe me if I said that I'm looking for someone? And the red-haired girl you’re with may help me find her?”

Ruby was half surprised that the white-haired girl managed to keep up with her through the abandoned shipyard. Not that her jump boots... heels? Whatever, her gadgets were well efficient in helping her in traversing the buildings while the crimsonette ran along the narrow pathways. She needed to lose the pursuer fast, she can already feel herself being tired out from overusing her powers.

Her silver glow began to flicker a while ago, if this keeps up she may pass out from over-exhaustion. She grit her teeth as she kept running, if she stops now then she'll be caught- who knows what they'll do to her when they do. A laser whizzed past her head, then another shot hit her square in the back. Ruby's shield flickered as she ducked behind one of the buildings.

Dammit! Her personal shield was dangerously low, one more hit and it'll shatter. Ruby drew her revolver and waited as she heard her pursuer land nearby.

"Have you finally decided to surrender?" Weiss said as she raised her pistol.

The crimsonette aimed her revolver at the white-haired girl as she stepped out of cover, "Nah, just got tired of running."

"Make this easier on both of us and just lower your weapon."

"Or how about we both walk away like we've never seen each other before one of us has to die?" Ruby suggested.

"How thoughtful of you to consider that." Weiss said unwavering.

The two girls stood there with their weapons drawn at each other, both waiting to see who would make the first move. Ruby didn't notice at first until the white-haired girl's face shifted from determined to shock, and that's when she felt it. She felt light headed as her silver eyes flickered wildly, letting out a hiss as she felt something streak down her face from her left eye.

'Times up'

Ruby quickly reached over to her gauntlet and reattached the pin. Her glowing eyes shifted back to normal, while whatever was streaking down her face had dripped off and stained the ground in red. It was blood, it was her blood and it dawned on her as she quickly wiped away the remaining blood on her face- leaving faint traces of red lines.

Weiss, who watched the entire spectacle, stood there confused. Should she quickly detain the girl before she harms herself or should she help her before her condition gets worse. She silently cursed herself for not knowing much about the conditions of the silver-eyed warriors, completely unaware of the two machines that crept up on them.

The "Creeps" stood on top of the abandoned building that overlooked both of them, however from where they stood Weiss was unintentionally blocking Ruby. They didn't care, as they charged up their cores. The crimsonette took notice, and before she knew it her body moved on its own- her mind couldn't process all the events that occurred in the few brief seconds.

A chink was heard as the pin flew from her gauntlet and she felt the wind rush past her. In a blink of an eye she already closed the distance between her and the white-haired girl, shoving her out of the way as she took aim at the Grimm Creeps. She pulled the trigger, just as one of the Creeps fired a beam directly at Weiss. Ruby's body moved before her mind caught up, shoving the white-haired girl out of the way and fired another shot.

The haunting sound of glass shattering rang out as Ruby's shield bursted, the impact launched the silver-eyed pilot back. Ruby clutched her side with one of her hands as her back made contact with the floor, Weiss sprang up from being shoved and ran over to the injured girl. Her shield took the brunt of the shot however there was still a nasty burn on her side. Ruby laid there unconscious, clutching her revolver in a death grip.

Weiss quickly went over and kneeled next to the silver-eyed girl, rummaging through her stuff to search for any first aid supplies, she let out an irritated groan as she couldn't find anything. Her attention was interrupted as she heard footsteps approaching from her left, she drew her pistol and aimed it at whoever drew near. It was Yang and Blake, who both stopped in shock as they tried to comprehend the sight before them.

"...Weiss?" Yang asked hesitantly.

"Yang, we need to get her on board the Spectre. The medical staff can treat her wounds." Weiss said as she holstered her weapon.

"There's no way we can get her on board. The Grimm have already closed off the airspace outside of the station, not to mention we can't get a shuttle down here." The bounty hunter replied.

"Then what can we do? If we just stand here and do nothing then the Grimm will get to her!"

"And we can't go anywhere without a proper transport! Even if we lie low here on this station, they'll eventually come and search the entire station until they find her."

"There has to be a way out of this..." Weiss muttered.

"I'm still thinking of a way, maybe if there is a stealth ship we could slip out of the station if someone can cause a huge distraction." Yang said.

While the two were brainstorming different ideas, Blake quietly made her way towards Ruby. She kneeled down next to the injured girl, her chest tightened as she kept her eyes on her unconscious form. The faunus balled her hand into a fist while the other reached over and activated her comms.

"Velvet? What's your status?" Blake asked, while keeping her eyes on Ruby.

"Pulling up towards the shipyard now, sent me your location for extraction." The bunny faunus said over the transmission.

The ebony-haired girl pulled out her scroll and pinged her location. She looked up into the sky of the constricted station while she kept her ear out for their ship.

"-Yang, who's that?" Weiss asked as she pointed towards the faunus.

"She's her partner." Yang said as she pointed to the silver-eyed girl, "Speaking of which, what happened to her?"

"Grimm surprise attack, but now's not the time for this. We have to find a way off this station before they take her." Weiss stated.

"...Can we trust you?" Blake asked, while facing away from the two.

"Excuse me?! We're not trying to kill you, we've-"

"We're both here for the same reason as I told you before," Yang interrupted, "I would love to explain ourselves but right now we need to escape."

Blake turned around to face the white and yellow duo, her amber eyes staring back into azure blue and lilac orbs, "Then let's not waste anymore time."

Just as she finished her sentence the empty space above them began to darken, the familiar sound of an engine roaring replaced the quietness around them. A large craft pulled into view, its main twin engines powered down as the remaining thrusters kept the ship hovering above them. The ship's silhouette resembled and large arrow, with the cockpit stationed at the front while four fins extended from the two engines. The ship had large containers on its sides, top, and bottom- the ship turned around and extended a ramp from its cargo bay to the four girls.

"I'll trust you for now, don't make me regret it." Blake warned as the ship landed, blowing a gust a wind around it.

Weiss and Yang both looked at each other for a split second before they nodded.

"Alright, let's get going." The faunus stated.

Chapter Text

Once everyone was aboard the ship, Blake carried Ruby to the medical bay as Yang ran toward the bridge with Weiss in tow. The cat faunus had both the humans disarm their weapons before they could board the ship. Although the worst thing that happened was trying to calm down Velvet who became immediately frightened when Yang and Weiss had entered the bridge. 

"Wh-wha-" The bunny faunus stammered before Blake entered the bridge.

"They're friends... for the moment at least." The ebony-haired girl answered as she sat down at one of the side consoles, "Velvet, do you have any ideas on how to escape this station?"

"I-I'm not sure, we can move within the station however when we leave through the docks- we'll be blasted by the surrounding ships."

"Damn, there has to be a way to escape."

The brunette shook her head, "This ship may be new but I highly doubt that I can get past the blockade."

"What if we cause a distraction?" Yang suggested, entering the conversation.

Both faunus turned towards the blonde bounty hunter in confusion, Blake was the one who spoke up, "With what? We don't really have the means to make a large enough distraction for us to escape through the station's only exit."

"I was just saying, I mean you guys are the ones who did wreck a Grimm ship. Can't you do something?" The bounty hunter brought up.

"That was because of Ruby's-" Blake stopped herself as she recalled something, while Yang and Weiss were still gaping from what she said, Blake turned towards her terminal and brought up the docking bay's interface.

"Wait, did you just say Ruby?" both Weiss and Yang asked in confusion, however the cat faunus paid them no mind as she scrolled through the registered ships.

"Velvet, which bay was our old ship located in?"

"Bay Eighteen, but why do you want to know?"

"Please tell me that you didn't update the autopilot functions before you sold the ship."

"Of course not! It's not like I had any time for that anyway."

"That's great," Blake said before she began to type something on her console.

"Now what are you doing?" Weiss asked, completely confused by their conversation. 

"Can either of you pilot a ship?" the cat faunus questioned.

"I can, but could you explain to me why?" Yang said.

"I will but first things first," the faunus turned towards the white-haired girl, "Can you do something about those Schnee ships orbiting the station? Less ships surrounding the exit the better."

"I'll see what I can do... although I'm not sure if I can get them to move." Weiss replied quietly.

"Even driving one ship away would be appreciated."

Weiss nodded hesitantly while Yang was bouncing in her seat, waiting for the faunus to tell her the plan.

"What's the plan, leader woman?"

Blake said nothing as she brought up the ship schematics for the blonde to see, Yang let out a whistle as her face broke into a smile.

"You know, I beginning to see a beautiful friendship between us right now."

A man stood in the bridge of a Goliath Class cruiser tapping his foot against the floor, watching the port along with four additional cruisers. It has been two hours since they received the report from the forces from within, and it took them minutes to organize the surrounding fleet.

"Sir, we have just received a report from the Schnee fleet. It appears that they are need to assist with a technical issue with the Spectre."

"Hmph, let them go. It's not like they would make a difference anyway."

"But sir, what if they get through the blockade?"

"Hah! Do you think that they'll get away? If they had a fleet maybe, but it's only a small group. At most they would have three ships."

"What if they jump to FTL?"

"From inside the station? Impossible. The scanners would pick up on their energy signature and even then they would be left defenseless for our fighters to swoop in and tear them to shreds."

"If you say so sir."

"I know so. Get back to your station."

"Yes sir."

The captain turned away from the man as he stared back at the port, wondering if they would show up before the inner Grimm forces catches them inside the station. A couple minutes passed by before the scanners began to bleep.

"Sir! We have an energy signature heading right for us!"

"Good, have the fleet enter the Crane formation. Have the guns warm up and calibrated properly! I will not tolerate miss fires here people!"

The entire bridge buzzed with action as people scrambled around the consoles, the captain felt the room rumbled for a moment before someone yelled out, "Weapons are green!"

The captain had a smirk on his face as he looked for the approaching ship, waiting to see it turn into a fireball of debris.

"The ship has left the port!"

"Men! Aim accordingly, if one of you damage the station I will personally punish you!"

"Aye sir!"

"Ship is two thousand meters away, guns corrected for distance and charged."

"Fire!"

The ship rumbled as a volley of guns fired at once, along with the other ships at the approaching ship. The lasers exploded on contact, creating a huge cloud that blanketed the front of the port.

"Any signatures?"

The captain asked as he turned to face his crew.

"Scanning... wait, detecting two signatures in the cloud sir!"

"What!"

When he turned around, he was greeted with a bright light that shown through the cloud.

"What in the name of-"

An object flew out of the smoke, an old battered ship flying at top speeds while a cable was connected to the back of the ship. A moment after a sleek black ship followed afterwards, with the cable extending from the front of the ship. Both ships were flying straight towards the blockade, and quickly closing the distance between them.

"O-open fire!"

"WHOOO!"

Yang shouted as she piloted the ship in front of them, purposely getting hit with the incoming fire. The guns unfurled from the older craft and began returning fire at the warships ahead.

"Come on, a little closer."

Blake kept her eyes on the distance, slowly counting off the meters while her hand ghosted over the controls.

"Blake? How much longer?"

"Almost there, Velvet..."

The room shook as an explosion impacted the hull, causing all four girls to shake in their seats.

"Just release the ship!"

Weiss cried as she held onto her seat.

"Almost there!"

Another explosion shook the ship, this time shredding off a bit of plating. The ship in front wasn't as fortunate as one of the engines blew off into an inferno and one of the machine guns was torn to pieces.

"One thousand and thirty seven meters, the side ships are about to hit us!"

Velvet shouted as she steered away from another cannon shot. The older vessel took another hit, sending plating off from the hull and almost crashing into their ship.

"Now!"

Blake slammed her hand against her console, and in an instant the cable connecting to the older ship separated.

"Alright! Sending them the goodbye package!"

Yang said as she ignited the thrusters on the remote controlled ship. The craft flew even faster without the extra luggage towards the blockade, closing the distance between them to roughly six hundred meters while Velvet steered away from the ship. All the cannons focused on the incoming ship, desperately trying to capsize the vessel before it could ram into one of their ships.

The ship's engine flashed for a moment as lighting sparked off of it, the only warning it gave before the ship exploded internally. The explosion was immense, even as it was several hundred meters away, the radius damaged the surrounding ships and the shockwave shook every Goliath cruiser.

It was a moment, and yet in that split amount of time it gave them what they needed. An opening.

Velvet flew underneath one of the cruisers while riding close to the explosion radius, the ship unfurled its weapons and locked themselves facing upwards. Blake and Yang both held the triggers on their consoles, feeling the vibrations of the PDCs firing against the metal hull of the Grimm cruiser. They tore a sizable chunk as the guns emptied themselves, fully disabling the engines of the cruiser as they flew away.

"We're in the open!"

Yang shouted.

"Engines are green, FTL is fully charged!"

Weiss stated as she turned towards Blake.

"Velvet, hit it!"

"Aye ma'am!"

The ship lurched before the engines flared, and in an instant the ship blinked into the darkness of space.