Novels2Search

Fight in the Fang

We sat on the roof and watched the sunset as our little cadre of teenage runaways, strays, and weirdos told stories. We took turns keeping watch, figuring that if and when somebody made a move, we'd hear it. The sun faded and a fog rolled in over the docks. Dusk hadn't quite turned the docks into an ink black swamp yet. But that might've just been the nightvision built into my helmet. We were all sitting in a circle, listening to the radio and chatting. Penny was sitting next to me, bopping her head to the tune of the music. Yang and Ruby to my right, Weiss was on watch, and Blake and Sun were across from me.

"So that's when I dove into the cab, told Nep to floor it, and we were gone." Sun smirked

"Heh. That's one way to do it." I chuckled "I'm honestly surprised you managed to out run the cops."

"What do you take me for?" Sun said with a smirk "After that, I wandered around Beacon and bumped into Blake. Then we just spent the weekend hanging out and plotting to catch the thieves.

"Sounds like fun" Yang said with a cheeky smirk. "Bet you two got real chummy."

"Pff, hardly. She wouldn't say a word to me until this morning."

"Aww, with the way you two seem to be getting along I'd have thought you'd have gotten up to some monkey business."

Yang gave a pleased smile. Everyone else present glared at her.

"… That's terrible Yang." I responded

"What did she do?" Penny asked

"She made a pun, a terrible one."

"Oh…"

'must… fight… the urge…'

"… Besides, I think Blake's a bit too catty for that." I said

My face fell into my hands. That was terrible. The glares everyone gave me made it clear. Yang gave me an even bigger smile and snapped her fingers at me.

"I hate you so much." I growled

"Aww, don't be like that. I can't be the only one to make the jokes around here."

"They're not jokes, they're a play on words and I hate it."

"Moving on." Sun said, trying to bury the puns. "What's your deal? I thought teams were only supposed to get four people."

"Well, you're not wrong." Weiss grumbled

"Six is… odd." Ruby explained

"No kidding." Sun chuckled

"He got placed with us after initiation because he wasn't able to partner or team up with anyone…"

Ruby paused for a moment and started thinking.

"Come to think of it, why did you wind up with us?" Blake asked

"I tried to avoid teaming with anyone and got shackled with the people I had an 'affinity' for as a result."

"Oh yeah." Ruby said "You did say something about that."

"You had an 'affinity' for us?" Weiss asked

"Apparently." I shrugged "Ozpin probably noticed that I was willing to risk my life to keep at least two of you alive and decided it was good enough."

"Huh. So you're like an extra then?" Sun asked

"Basically. He stuck me with them until we could find a team for me, or something. Been stuck with them since."

"I bet that's been fun." Sun smirked "Cramped space, four girls, one g-"

Blake elbowed Sun in the ribs.

"What are you talking about?" Ruby asked, confused "Six has been spending the past few months in a closet down the hall."

Sun looked at Ruby, then back to me. "Seriously? You'd pass up an opportunity to- ow!"

Blake elbowed Sun again.

"To what?" Ruby asked innocently

"You'll understand when you're older." Yang clarified

Ruby looked confused.

"Psh, I've got more class than that, Monkey boy."

'That, and I'm pretty sure at least one of them would blind me for it. Not that I'd try anyway, that's just creepy for someone my age.'

Penny looked at Blake and Sun for a moment. "I'm confused."

"About?"

"Why Blake keeps hitting Sun."

'… hmmm'

"Well you see Penny." I explain "When two people like each other, romantically, one of them will make some form of physical gesture to do it."

Blake was mid-way into elbowing Sun again when I made my explanation. She stopped, wide eyed.

"Are Blake and Sun… dating?"

"I suppose that depends on what it means to 'hit on' someone."

Blake and Sun's face turned a shade red and they scooted apart a bit further.

"No, we're not, we only just met." Blake clarified

"Then why do they keep insinuating that you are?"

"It's part of the joke Penny." I clarified "You know what jokes are, right?"

"I know the definition…" Penny went silent for a moment "… Does that mean Sun doesn't like men?"

"W-What!?" Sun burst out, practically falling backwards "N-No! Why would I like guys!?"

"But… isn't Blake a man?"

Everyone stared in stunned silence at the innocent girl sitting next to me.

"I- I am not a man!" Blake said, a visible blush on her face.

"Really?" Penny continued, thoroughly confused "But Six said you were."

"It was a joke!" I shouted "I was kidding!"

"Oh…"

Penny proceeded to burst out laughing, like it was the first actual joke she'd ever heard. Everyone looked back and forth between me and her. I noticed Blake was giving me an embarrassed glare. I gave a laugh of my own. Soon Yang and Ruby crumbled too.

"Heh he he… You're a bit odd, you know that Penny?" I finally got out

Penny's laughter died down and she looked at us. She seemed a bit sad. "Papa doesn't let me walk around on my own very often." Penny admitted sadly "This is the longest I've spent with a group of friends."

"… do you have many of those?" I asked

Penny looked sadly to the floor.

"Ah, sorry Penny."

"It's ok. Papa says I'm not ready anyway."

"Not ready? I thought you were supposed to be 'combat ready'?"

"I am, but Papa doesn't want me to go outside alone."

"Then what are you doing here right now?" Yang asked

"I… sometimes sneak out."

'Ooh watch out, girl's got a wild streak'

Penny looked at all of us, a soft light in her eyes. "I've always wanted to hang out with friends, see a movie, talk about boys, or go to the park even. But Papa always said I wasn't ready."

"You've never been to a park?" I asked

She shook her head.

"Heh. Guess that makes two of us."

"You've never been to a park?" Sun and Penny asked in stereo

"Nope, Mojave doesn't have a lot of room for things like that."

"… The where?" Sun asked

'… aw crap.'

"My home, don't feel like talking about it, sorry." I summarized "The point is I've never been to a park either. I heard they were supposed to be beautiful."

The closest I'd probably ever been to an actual park was Zion, and it stopped counting several hundred years ago. When people started shooting each other and the bombs fell.

"… You know what?" I say "How about the next time we meet up, we go find one instead of tracking down thieves. Sound good Penny?"

"Sensational!" Penny exclaimed

"… Heh." Sun chuckled "You know, you look scary, but you're actually a big softy underneath all that scary armor."

"Watch it monkey boy." I growl "You still owe me dry cleaning for pushing me in the mud."

"Ah heh" Sun rubbed the back of his head "R-right… come to think of it, why are you wearing armor?"

"Because I want to survive getting shot?" I asked rhetorically

"Why not just use your aura?"

'… Aura can block bullets!?'

"Six's aura is pretty weak." Yang admitted with a chuckle "We've found that much out."

"Y…yeah. Totally. Wish it hadn't taken breaking a wall to find out."

Sun looked at me strange.

"… Yang punched me through a wall." I supplied

"Oh. Ouch."

I nodded sagely.

"I thought you wore armor because you don't have an aura." Penny said innocently

Present company stared at Penny in confusion, I stared in anxious silence. I had no clue how she'd figured that out.

"Wha-"

Before any of us could ask questions the high pitched whine of turbines pierced the night air. One of the vertibird-like vehicles that regularly patrolled the skies over Vale roared past us over head. It quickly decelerated as it arced its way to the yard. I got the distinct impression they weren't here to change shifts.

'Not the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves, these guys.'

I turned off my radio and We moved to the edge of the roof to observe the new party. The craft touched down and a group of men disembarked. They were dressed in a form of robes. They looked to have been cut down for ease of movment, in a way that reminded me of Ren's clothing. Though more simplified and less ornate. They all wore a mask that obscured the upper portions of their face and connected to a large hood to form a cowl.

"Is that them?" I heard Sun ask

The group began to disperse around the yard, collecting equipment. Each of them bore an insignia on the backs of their robes. The visage of an enraged yao guai, or rather an ursa, stained crimson red and scored with three claw marks. My memory wasn't the best, but I recognized the symbol from Oobleck's lectures and the occasional news story.

"Yes." Blake said sadly "It's them."

A pair of the men wandered off a distance. They returned with a thick metal cable.

"I'm sorry Blake." Yang said, patting Blake on the Back.

Blake stared forlornly at the White Fang.

"You really didn't think they were behind it, did you?" Sun asked

"… no" Blake said "I think, deep down, I knew. I just didn't want to be right."

"Considering you were practically raised by these people, why would you?" I asked

Turns out, things were just that clear cut. The White Fang was stealing the dust, for whatever reason, and we'd caught them red handed. All I needed to wait for now was the pip-boy to cancel out the quest. No sense for it to keep track of something I couldn't feasibly accom-

"Hey! What's the hold up?" A voice echoed from the yard.

I snapped my attention back to the yard. My current comrades seemed to hear it too, as they did the same. In the yard, a sharp dressed man in a bowler hat descended the walkway of the aircraft.

"We're not exactly low profile here." The man snipped "So, if you animals wouldn't mind moving along?"

The white Fang stared at the man for a moment. Then, rather than shooting him for insulting them, they actually complied and began to work faster.

"That's that Torchwick guy!" Ruby exclaimed

I recognized him now, he was the dumbass that tried to use me as a meat shield when I first got here.

'I feel like things just got a bit more complicated.'

"This isn't right." Blake growled, drawing her weapon "The White Fang would never work with a human. Especially not one like that."

"Alright, then we'll approach this tactically." I said, surveying the docks and figuring out where best to position myself. "We've got a small window to think, we need to do this-"

Blake jumped off the roof without a second thought.

"-Rationally…" I finished.

"Blake, Hold up!" Yang shouted, diving off the roof after her. Ruby and Weiss soon followed suit. I only managed to look to Sun as he shrugged and dove off the roof himself.

'What is it with these people and jumping off of high places?'

I turned around and made a bee-line for the stairwell. I stopped when I realized Penny was still here. She was looking like a new born puppy that had stumbled onto its older siblings playing. Confused and not sure what to do next, but looking to get involved all the same.

"Penny, do me a favor and stay up here." I said walking past her.

"But I can help!" Penny said, following after me "I'm-"

"Combat ready, yeah, yeah. Don't take this the wrong way, but you're unarmed and unarmored. If this is going the way I think it is, I'd rather have you not get blown to pieces."

"I am more than capable of defending myself." Penny said innocently "In fact, without an aura, you stand a much higher chance of being hurt than me."

I turned and looked at the girl. "I don't know how you know about that, but what I do or do not lack is not your concern. Even if I don't have an 'aura' I'm still more than capable of handling whatever they're capable of giving. I'm a seasoned fighter and survivor, you're a teenage girl in a dress."

Penny continued to stare at me, unfazed. I ignored her and ran into the stairwell. My hand flitted over my weapons as I descended. My cattle prod on my left hip and That Gun on my right. Of all the weapons I could've brought, I'd come down on that being one of them. It was a better balance of things while still keeping me with ammo on hand. I just wish I hadn't needed to use it. The fact that I'd brought it meant I had a feeling where tonight was heading. I'd wanted to avoid having to use it, given I wasn't sure what we'd find Blake doing. Even then I wished I was wrong. I clambered down into the warehouse and dove into stealth mode as things began to unfold. In the time it had taken me to get down here, Blake had made herself known and was holding Torchwick from behind with a sword on his throat. The White Fang had taken notice and had readied their swords and rifles. I could see Yang positioned behind a nearby container, so the others were likely doing the same. Blake removed her ribbon with a flourish, revealing a small set of cat-like ears perched atop her head.

"Brothers of the White Fang!" Blake shouted "Why are you aiding this scum!?"

The White Fang members looked to one another, lowering their weapons slightly in confusion.

"Ho oh, kid." Torchwick snickered "Didn't you get the memo?"

"What are you talking about?" Blake growled

"The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together."

I pulled up alongside a container and readied myself. I had a feeling I knew where this was going.

"Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to your little operation."

Torchwick snickered "I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation."

The high pitched whine of turbines filled the air and the wind kicked up, scattering dirt and stone. Overhead, a pair of the aircraft circled in low, hovering and pointing themselves at Blake.

"Now would be nice, Neo!" Torchwick shouted over the whine of the aircraft.

With a bang, a woman sprang from atop the container I was using for cover. It was hard to call her a woman, considering she was shorter than Ruby. But if the way she was dressed was any indicator, she was either the tiniest woman I've ever seen or a malnourished teenage. Either was possible. Her hair was split in twain with color, one half a deep and rich brown while the other a pale and eye-catching pink. Her skin was pale and creamy, her eyes a heterochromatic mess of brown and pink, and her mouth and nose small to match the rest of her. She was dressed in finery that'd probably give Weiss a run for her money. She might not have looked out of place in a pre-war shopping catalogue. High heeled boots that reached to her knees, attire that wouldn't be out of place in a business conference, and dainty gloves complete with what appeared to be an umbrella. Or, rather, a parasol.

The pink and white eyesore sprang from the container. Torchwick didn't move at all, which allowed the intruder to kick Blake in the face like it was the most natural thing in the world. The blade fell from Torchwick's throat and he made a short escape a few yards away. The intruder, Neo, joined him with a smug look on her face that I felt a burning desire to remove.

"Well~ that was an enjoyable little distraction." Torchwick smirked "But I'm afraid I have some pertinent business to attend to, so be a good little pest-"

Torchwick raised his cane.

"-and fuck off."

Muscle memory kicked in quick enough. I sprang out, pulled That Gun from my hip and dove into VATs. The world slowed to a crawl and the hardware let me judge my odds. I could take a shot at Torchwick and Neo, but there was a chance the bullets wouldn't be enough. Even if they were, I knew more than a fair share of times one shot to the dome wasn't enough. Which meant neutralizing them before they got a clean hit on Blake was a crapshot.

So I took the hit from them.

With a practiced hand, I cracked off two shots. One for Torchwick's cane and the other for the arm attached to it. The one aimed at the Cane was high, I watched sparks dance off it as the bullet nicked the cane. The one on his arm hit true though, even if it didn't leave a bleeding hole, it hit. Time sped back to normal and I watched as Torchwick's aim skewed wildly. His cane jerked to the side as the projectile was loosed. It landed amongst some members of the White Fang and exploded, scattering them.

"OW!" Torchwick shouted "What the he-"

"Language!" I shouted, firing a round at Torchwick's head. It collided with and stumbled him. But if it did anymore, he shrugged it off. I had my answer now: Whatever aura was, it could stop bullets.

Almost as if that was the cue, my teammates leapt from the shadows. Yang skirted across the ground like a ball of fire, firing rounds from her gauntlets at the White Fang, buying more room. Weiss elegantly glided from the shadows, sword at the ready like a menacing toothpick. Ruby leapt over the container behind us, Crescent rose open and ready as she buried the tip into the ground. I leapt to a spot amongst them and took aim at Torchwick. A none too bright decision on my part, given there were currently heavy machineguns trained on us. But I was visible now, so might as well play it up.

Torchwick recomposed himself and focused on us. Neo seemed initially stunned by our sudden appearance, now she just seemed amused by Torchwick's floundering to right himself.

"… Well well, we really need to stop meeting like this, Red." He growled, focusing on Ruby. "Isn't it past your bedtime anyway?"

Bay doors opened on both of the aircraft and more White Fang members leapt out into the air. They hit the ground with a roll, springing into action with weapons drawn. A smattering of assault rifles, pistols, and swords. None matching any model I could be familiar with, but the near identical appearance of the rifles and their numbers meant they were most likely mass produced. Meaning they were likely similar to the service rifles the NCR used. Low power, but enough of them meant trouble. Same for the swords and pistols. All of them were trained on us

'Really wish I could say I wasn't used to this situation.'

"I don't know what you're doing Torchwick." Ruby said confidently "But I won't let you hurt Blake."

"Yea." I growled "Leave kitten out of this."

My teammates spared me a sideways glance before focusing on the troubles in front of us.

"That's cute." Torchwick sneered "… who are you again?"

"The-"

"Actually, you know what?" Torchwick chuckled "I don't care. You animals gonna take care of this?"

Hatches at the front of the crafts extended, revealing pairs of what appeared to heavy machine guns.

"Oh shit!" I shouted

I dove out of the way an instant before the bullets started flying. I could feel the white hot sparks of lead meeting steel at the speed of sound as the choir of gunfire sang. I dipped into VATs long enough to ensure my teammates hadn't stayed still. They were smart enough to move, but not smart enough to keep from scattering. Yang had dove headlong at Torchwick and Neo. Weiss had used her glyphs to get herself out of range, charging with Ruby. Ruby was flying towards a crowd of White fang, the muzzle flash from her scythe frozen in the air as she accelerated a swing. Blake was frozen mid jump as her weapon hooked outward on a ribbon. If they were intending to fight, they needed to do so on a united front. Having everyone fly off wasn't going to help.

I slipped out of VATs as the White Fang intervened, firing their assault rifles and pistols wildly. Bullets filled the air like angry lead cazadors, hitting and penetrating shipping containers and people alike. Clearly, none of them had received any marksman training. Given that any people they did hit were their own and it seemed they had little idea how to properly aim. They were relying on the idea of 'if we shoot enough we'll hit something.'

I promptly felt a bullet tear through my lower left calf.

"SON OF A WHORE!"

I let my momentum carry me forward and out of the open. My leg felt like it was on fire and pain was searing through it. I spared a glance down at my leg and noticed the blood was beginning to well out. For all the plating my armor had, they'd never bothered to cover the backs of the legs. Though I doubt when they designed it, they intended for the wearer to get shot in the back of the leg on a time travelling journey gone awry. If I'd gone with one of the heavier models, it might've stopped it.

I unlatched one of the belts clasped around my waist and did my best to improvise a tourniquet. Not too smart in my present situation, considering if I didn't find a better solution I'd lose my leg. But it was either that or deal with the blood loss. Even with the tourniquet applied the wound was still weeping. Better that then getting light headed now though. Only plus I could see was that the bullet seemed to have gone clean through, so I wouldn't have to dig it out later.

I reloaded my pistol and focused on the fight occurring beyond my cover. I could hear plenty of gunfire and shouting, most of it from my teammates. Which meant the White Fang likely weren't any more trained than your garden variety raider or legionnaire at best. But they had a major unknown over me: aura. I was going to assume that Torchwick had it, and was the only reason I hadn't perforated his arm and head. Which meant that I had no clue how much punishment anyone present could take. My current weapon, That Gun, wasn't a slouch. It could punch a hole into just about anything, and pretty much had by this point. I'd figured it was time to bring it out, being better balanced than my experiences with other firearms so far. Only now did I learn people could apparently shrug off getting shot in the head with a five-five-six round.

"Alright, time for a stress test then." I growled.

The cylinder snapped shut automatically and I leapt from cover. My leg throbbed and I fought to ignore it. The docks had turned into a battleground. Yang had lost Torchwick at somepoint and was brawling with Neo. That parasol she'd been holding was apparently magic, because it was shrugging off the blasts from Yang's fist like it was shedding rain. Ruby was waylaid into the crowd of White Fang, a spinning crimson tornado of gunfire and blades. I watched as White Fang went flying left and right, all in one piece. Which wasn't giving me high hopes. Weiss had redirected herself, the glyphs she spawned launched her like a bullet as she zipped around. Only stopping occasionally to parry the unprepared and incapacitating them. Blake had focused herself on Torchwick. She popped in and out of existence with what looked to be clones of herself as she fought with a ferocity I would've expected from Yang.

'The hell?'

"Over there!" I heard a voice shout.

I had only a second to register that the White Fang had taken notice of me. Then more gunfire was directed my way. It was a group of them, easily ten. Two of them opened fire with assault rifles as I slipped into VATs. I wasn't going to outrun bullets, but I could make a window. I gave each of the riflemen a shot to the chest. If they hadn't been poor shots the bullets I heard whiz past as I slipped back to reality would've nailed me. The two riflemen slammed backwards as the bullets hit their mark. I took the opportunity and continued shooting. That Gun bucked violent as I cracked off another three shots at the riflemen. The stumble turned into a fall. I could see the rest of the White Fang were armed with pistols. Except for one, who was wielding two swords and holding a stance like it made him look intimidating.

The White Fang returned fire but I was already limping away. I wasn't an idiot. These guys wanted me dead and seemed pretty intent to make it happen. If I stood still, they'd make it. I couldn't run with my leg how it was, even hobbling as I was I knew it wouldn't be able to keep the tourniquet stable and if I made it too tight I'd lose the leg entirely.

I could hear my teammates fighting all around me. I didn't have the luxury to stop and gawk. I just moved, if I stayed still now I was done. I reloaded That Gun as I hobbled, bobbing and weaving every chance I could to make sure the White Fang chasing me couldn't get a clear shot.

I dipped around a corner and narrowly avoided eating the butt of an assault rifle. It just narrowly scraped against the side of my mask. The White Fang holding it realized a moment too late he missed and tried to pull his gun down to shoot me. I whipped out my cattle prod and jammed it into his throat. He let out a strangled yelp before I punched him where his nose would be behind the mask. He recoiled and I followed with a punch to the sternum. He tripped and hit the ground.

I could hear the footsteps behind me and made a snap decision. I grabbed the downed White Fang, hauled him to his feet, and pulled him in front of me with That Gun against his head. His friends came barreling around the corner in time for me to turn around. They stopped in their tracks and took aim. The dumbass I was holding got coherent as I slowly forced the two of us backwards.

"Get the fuck back!" I shouted, finger tight on the trigger "make a move and I'll turn these containers red!"

The White Fang looked at one another. I took the chance to figure out what to do. My leg was slowing me down, I was out numbered, out gunned, and if the warm feeling trickling down the lower part of my leg was an indicator I was also bleeding out. Just what I needed, a time limit. My eyes scanned our surroundings quickly. I needed every advantage I could get my hands on. Starting with getting myself out of the open. I only got a good look at the warehouse we came out of.

Then the White Fang opened fire.

I felt the bullets hit the guy I was holding and heard him scream. Then something in him broke and the bullets tore him apart. I felt several of them hit my armor, they hurt but they'd lost speed on my former shield.

I didn't wait for that to change. I threw the former White Fang forward and bolted into the warehouse. The warehouse was almost pitch black without my helmet. The dusk robbing it of any natural light. I stumbled amongst the containers and shelving. Trying to get to cover before my pursuers chased after me.

'They fucking shot him.' Was the only thing I could think 'They shot their own teammate to death just to get to me.'

I collapsed behind a crate. My breathing erratic from the running and wounds. My leg was throbbing, my chest was aching, my lungs felt bruised, and my pipboy said I was a quarter dead. That might've had more to do with the blood loss than anything though. I was in pain, but at least I was coherent enough to do something about it.

At that thought, I tended to my leg again. I pulled the belt a smidge tighter, there was a fine line I had to watch. Too far and I would lose my leg. Which was a situation I really wanted to avoid. Only then did I notice the trail of blood I'd left while hobbling into here.

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'Perfect, just what I needed.'

The sound of a door slamming open alerted me to my attacker's arrival. There was a quick barrage of foot falls as they rushed in. They teetered to a halt as they didn't immediately know where I was hiding.

"Spread out." I heard one of them growl.

The foot falls dispersed as they searched. Likely fanning out to find me faster. They thought they had the advantage. They were right. They had the numbers. They had the weapons, even if they lacked the training. They even had aura, which meant bullets weren't as lethal to them as they were me. The only thing I might've had over them was nightvision. But even that I wasn't sure on at this point. I was pretty sure I'd read something about Faunus' darkvision somewhere.

I didn't wait for them to find me. It wouldn't take long if I was leaking liquid like a busted bottle of whiskey. I kept in stealth mode and pushed forward into the warehouse. It was a giant maze of shelves and boxes. If I'd tied my leg off better, I might've been able to keep them busy longer. But all it was going to take was them finding my blood and-

"… Eyes open!" A White Fang shouted behind me "He's bleeding, he's not leaving this warehouse."

I heard the footsteps begin to congregate and move faster behind me. They had my trail now. I picked up the pace, but with my leg: I wasn't running. They were getting closer with each second. I could hear them just behind me. A mingled symphony of loose metal buckles and rubbing cloth. They were picking up the pace.

I found myself at the back of the warehouse in a matter of seconds. Only the stairwell to the roof ahead of me and death at my heels. I wouldn't scale the stairs before they arrived, even if I did they'd have me cornered. I didn't have many options, my only viable one was hiding.

So I did. I squeezed myself between a shelf and the warehouse wall, making sure my tourniquet was bound tight. One wrong move and they'd see me. I held my breath and stayed still. If their senses were sharper than the average human's, I didn't know how much they'd notice. I stayed still in the darkness, hearing the hammering of my own heart and the faint footsteps of searching White Fang. I heard the sound of a rifle shifting in hands. The footsteps drew closer to the back walls. I gripped That Gun a little tighter and flicked the setting on my cattle prod to maximum. I could hear the housing begin to hum.

The ten White Fang converged, four immediately in front of the stairwell and three on either side. Betwixt crates containers and shelves of cargo. Their weapons were trained on the corridor. Not a one of them showing restraint. If they saw me, they'd shoot on sight. I stood like a statue, making sure not to give the tiniest of movement.

"He's here." One of the Fang said, it was the one with the swords. "Find him, he's hiding."

'fuck.'

The White Fang kept a tight knit formation. They moved like a fine tooth comb, searching the shelves and crates. My heart hammered in my ears. I only saw them thanks to the night vision in my helmet, like dark silhouettes come to life. None of them were using flashlights either. Which meant they probably didn't need to. Which meant they'd see me just fine if they looked at the right angle.

Which meant, when the White Fang standing in front of my shelf turned, He saw me plain as day through the back of it.

"Shit!" He shouted, fumbling with his rifle.

'FUCK!'

With a heave, I revealed my hiding spot. Pushing from the space between my shelf and wall, I toppled a shelf on the group to the left of the stairwell. As the Shelf toppled I activated VATs. The White fang froze mid-reaction. The shelf still toppling downward on the three in front of me. I cracked off two shots at the next closest member. They hit their mark and I charged him as VATs faded.

The rest of the White Fang began to react as three of their members were pinned and a fourth was taken hostage. I knew what they were going to do though. They wouldn't hesitate. So neither was I.

I whipped my gun around and aimed for the next closest member. Three shots cracked off in a blink, each nailed the member in the head. Before they had a chance to open fire, I forced the trigger of my hostage's assault rifle back. Rounds sprayed from the muzzle as I whipped the gun around wildly. The Fang members in front of me either dove out of the way or got hit and recoiled. The moment there was an opening, I flipped my hostage around and jammed the barrel of the rifle into his stomach. I charged forward and squeezed the trigger. The member screamed as I barreled through the members before me with all the force I needed.

The rifle clicked empty and my hostage stopped screaming. I stopped only long enough to notice the large bloody hole I'd blown into him.

I tossed the corpse aside and kept moving. I could hear them behind me, some were giving chase and the others were trying to lift the shelving.

Adrenaline was bombarding my system like a storm from the divide. The pain of my leg was fading, my mind forcing me to focus on survival.

Two White Fang leapt into view in front of me, their weapons ready, an assault rifle and a pistol.

My adrenaline fueled mind kicked into gear. I didn't stop, I pulled out my cattle prod and threw it at the man with the pistol. The electrode connected with his forehead and he convulsed, buckling slightly. The rifle sprayed and I dove to the man I'd just zapped. The rifle couldn't turn as fast and the pistol couldn't focus a shot. I punched pistol man to the floor and planted a foot on his throat. I turned on heel and faced the rifleman. I stopped the rifle midway, flipped That Gun around and pressed the cylinder release. The spent casings were spat from the cylinder and into the face of the rifleman. He flinched and I punched him in the sternum.

The rifleman recoiled as I snapped another clip's worth of rounds into the cylinder. The pistol man was regaining coherence and trying to push my foot off as he struggled to breathe. I shot him once in the face. The rifle man went to grab me and I kicked him in the balls. He screamed and I jammed That Gun into his mouth.

One trigger pull later revealed an important fact: Aura doesn't protect your insides. A spray of blood and gore from the back of the rifleman's head proved that. The rifleman's corpse slumped back as the pistol man continued his struggle. I pushed down a little harder as I bent over and retrieved my cattle prod. I kicked the pistol away and emptied the cylinder into his head.

*SPLORCH*

It popped like an overripe mutfruit.

I smeared the blood from the lenses of my gas mask as I bolted, the White Fang right on my heels. I reloaded the cylinder, hand fumbling with the speedloader. I needed to keep calm, but the adrenaline wanted to push me. I needed to focus.

Another flurry of bullets was belted from the White Fang behind me. I could hear them colliding with the warehouse, the supports and struts ringing from the impact. I felt one fly past my right shoulder. The brief pain I felt meaning it grazed me.

I cut down the next corner, trying to throw them off. I was still outnumbered seven to one. I wasn't going to count the one I dropped the shelf on still being down. They were either going to flank me or were behind me. I didn't have an advantage on them still. Common sense and adrenaline said I should run. Frustration said I should fight.

My mind said I wanted a drink.

I leapt off to the side and hid amongst some crates in stealth mode. The White Fang careened past me in a fury, four of them. They had split up after all. They didn't care I'd just slaughtered three of them. Guess there was no honor among thieves. Or violent terrorists either. I waited for them to pass and went back the way I'd come.

I slowly released my breath. I was coming to grips with my situation.

I wasn't going to be able to hold back this time. They weren't leaving me a choice. They were hunting me down like a rat. That wasn't even counting the fact I'd just murdered three of them, something I'd wrestle with later. My teammates weren't going to help. There was no back up coming. Just me and the dark, with everything that lies within it.

I leaned briefly against some shelving, falling to a knee.

I felt a chill crawl down my spine at how familiar this situation was to…

'No. This isn't where it ends.'

I took a ragged breath.

'I'm not dying here. On some alien world because some furry fuckers have a hard on for killing people.'

I pushed myself to a crouch, entering stealth mode. Even through the adrenaline my calf throbbed, but I ignored it.

I'd only lost them for the moment. I needed to get rid of them. The question was how. They traveled in groups and weren't going to willfully let me pick them off. The longer this dragged on though, the more likely they were to call in backup. I couldn't get my teammates involved, they were busy on their own. I needed to get rid of them quickly. The only advantage I could think of was they weren't afraid to shoot each other. There had to be a way I could use that.

I quickly scanned the warehouse around me. Amidst the tools and crates, there wasn't anything I could see of value. Just forklifts, hand dollies, and chains. Couldn't use the forklifts, they were too loud, slow, and left me open to be shot. Plus, the most I could do is try and run them over. The hand dollies were worthless. The chains I could beat them with or maybe trip them up, but they were heavy and noisy. Dead weight more than anything…

I had an idea.

With a spin, the handle of Torchwick's Melodic Cudgel collided with the side of Blake's head. Before Torchwick could follow up, Blake flipped backward, distancing herself from the thief. The blade of Gambol Shroud collapsed and cocked back as the weapon's alternate function was enabled. Blake fired three shots at the thief. Only to have Torchwick dodge the first, block the other two, and turn the foot of his cudgel to her. The bottom of the cane flipped up and a ball of compressed dust flew from the barrel.

Making use of her semblance, The faunus huntress flew backwards. Leaving her clone to shield her from the blast. The dust and smoke settled and the two flew at each other one more. Blake drew the sheath of Gambol Shroud from her hip and hurled the weapon itself at Torchwick. The thief block the weapon with his own, watching as the pistol's momentum carried itself around his cudgel. Wrapping tight to it by a ribbon extended from Blake's wrist.

Using her new found anchor, Blake used it to pull herself towards Torchwick. She quickly closed the distance and swung the sharpened sheath at him. Roman took the first hit she gave, making an effort to avoid the rest she followed with before guarding with his cudgel. The two became locked with their weapons.

"Why!?" Blake half growled, half shouted "Why did you get the White Fang involved!?"

"Ho ho, kid." Roman sneered "I didn't involve them-"

Torchwick kicked Blake's leg, forcing her back, lest she wanted to receive another blow to the head.

"- They came to me."

Torchwick followed her, swinging his cudgel to keep her on the defensive. He spun the cane around and wrapped the crook of it around the faunus girl's ankle. With a pull, Blake stumbled backward. Torchwick flipped the cane around once more and pointed it at the downed girl. Blake had only and instant to look down the barrel of the cane and roll before another round of compressed dust exploded next to her. Her ears rang and she felt the shockwave through her aura as she was blown to the side. Though she escaped major injury, she felt off kilter. Torchwick didn't allow for her to recover, preparing another shot.

He was stopped by an errant banana peel being flung into his face.

Which was followed by a flying double heel kick to the face.

Sun collided with Torchwick and rolled to the ground. Weapons drawn and ready for a fight.

"Leave her alone." Sun snarled

Yang roared as she cocked her fist back. Ember Celica cocked itself and fired as Yang thrust her arm forward in a punch. The motion repeated rapidly as Yang unleashed a hale of gunfire on her opponent.

Neopolitan dodged the gunfire easily. None of it concentrated enough to be effective.

With a roar, Yang pointed Ember Celica behind herself and expelled the last of her loaded ammunition. The explosion propelled her forward with a bang. She carried it through with a straight, directed at the face of the multicolored thief.

With grace, Neo avoided the blow and those that followed with ease. She weaved effortlessly between every jab, dipped between every straight, and twirled away from every haymaker. Every swing Yang attempted met with naught but air.

Yang's frustration mounted. She drew in close and threw an uppercut at the thief. It was easily dodge and countered with a high kick from Neo. Yang raised her guard and stopped the kick dead, grabbing Neo's leg and throwing her back.

Neo responded by gracefully using the momentum to reorient herself and land unscathed and no worse for wear. The next punch Yang attempted was caught and pulled in tight by the tiny thief. With her movement restricted, Yang was susceptible to the blow to the face that followed shortly thereafter. Then the follow up by a kick to the back of the head as Neo released her spun, and put distance between them.

Yang expelled the shells from her Ember Celica and slapped two new belts of ammunition in. She glared at the thief. "You're really annoying."

Neo smirked and gave a small curtsy.

Yang sprang at her with a roar, boosting her attack with a blast from Ember Celica. A straight flew forward and collided with the chest of the thief. Yang felt a momentary sense of accomplishment, finally landing a hit.

The tiny thief then shattered like glass.

Before Yang could register what had happened, Neo appeared beside her and smacked the length of her umbrella into the side of Yang's head. Followed by a compressed blast of dust to her side. Her aura tanked the brunt of the damage and Yang skidded to the side, quickly adopting a guard. She came to a stop long enough to stare at the thief, still smirking at her.

"Wha-"

With a twirl, a second thief appeared. An exact copy of Neopolitan in every proportion.

With a flick of her arms, the yellow huntress loosed another salvo at the thief. Both the thief and her doppleganger weaved between the shots. A quick and chaotic pattern that soon lead to Yang's bafflement. She could neither tell which of them was real, nor could she hit them.

"Wuh oh."

Neo and her doppleganger kicked Yang in the face.

From her perch on the roof of the warehouse, Penny Polendina watched as her friends fought for their lives. A dazzling display of prowess, light, and sound. The two faunus had taken to fighting the man with the Bowler hat, the monkey one having come to Blake's aid. Yang was fighting a pair of oddly colored girls and appeared to be struggling. She seemed greatly frustrated. Ruby and Weiss were working in tandem to dispatch the White Fang that surrounded them. They danced an intricate dance of blades and bullets.

"HIYA!" Ruby shouted

The red clad girl spun in a fury. Propelled by the gunfire of her scythe. The curved blade dipped and twisted around her like a tree bough in a storm. Whipping and thrashing everything foolish enough to stand in front of her. Her movements were inexperienced. But they had speed and displayed a level of prowess one would only gain from long practice.

Her partner, the White clad Weiss, acted as a polar opposite. Every movement emanated grace, every thrust purpose, every repose control. She wasted no movement as she deflected blades and sprang between opponents with her glyphs. Dust powered explosions punctuating the occasional flourish. From Penny's knowledge, she could see much of specialist Schnee's influence in her. Only lacking in her true mastery of glyphs and experience.

Penny wanted desperately to join them. The present conditions were meeting all of the qualifications for the 'Fun_With_Friends' subroutine. But Papa had made it clear, she wasn't yet ready. Nor was the world ready for her. She knew she could do more than sit by the wayside. The technicians had repeatedly mentioned during her maintenance cycles how she was more than combat ready. In practice, she'd been shown to excel. The tactics and strategies of generations of Atlas military action were already downloaded into her mind. She was almost as physically capable as the recent paladin models. Even her endoskeletal systems were crafted with the finest atlesian materials.

She was made to be combat ready. But it was always the same: 'wait. Your time will come. be patient'.

She wanted to be among friends. To do the things others do. To attend school. To hang out with 'friends'. To talk about cute boys and the social hang ups of life. To have fun. To be a normal girl, just like Papa said she would be.

She was happy she had this opportunity presented to her today. To spend time among friends and be normal. Despite being forced to wait as her friends fought radicalized faunus in a shipyard at dusk. She wanted to help them. She knew she could. But she could not act without violating the wishes of her Papa and her friend. That would be dishonest.

This sentiment changed the instant Ruby was hurt.

A trio of bullheads roared as they swept over the docks. Machineguns roared from their hulls as they peppered the ground below with dust infused munitions. The rounds sprayed through the White Fang and the two huntresses. Those with the awareness dove for cover while able. The White Huntress launched herself with her glyphs, narrowly avoiding the hail of fire as she weaved through the docks.

The Red Huntress had much less success. She spun her scythe in an attempt to block as much of the incoming fire as she possibly could. Even as she deflected the projectiles however, it did little to defend against the debris and splatter caused by the projectiles colliding with the ground around her. The debris smacked and buffeted the Red huntress. None enough to harm her, but the pain dug at her.

The Bullheads roared past and the White Fang resumed their assault. The Red Huntress was beginning to slow, the continual guarding and dodging wearing on her. Even as she swung in retaliation, her strikes grew slower and heavier. She was no stranger to long fights, nor was she weak. But the continued assault was taking its toll. No room to breathe left her with no chance to build strength in her swings, draining the power from each successive strike.

This culminated in the lucky strike of a single White Fang.

The Faunus weaved through her sluggish strikes and bashed the butt of their assault rifle into Ruby's face. This stumbled the girl, her grip loosened on her beloved scythe and she was forced into retreat. She dodged every strike she could, trying to regain control over her weapon even as the assault continued. All the while, failing to notice that her assailants were steadily forcing her into a corner. Her partner off fighting her own battle and unknowing of her rapidly decaying situation.

From her perch on the warehouse, Penny watched as one of the few friends she had was being forced into a increasingly lethal situation. She could run the statistic in her mind, the odds of Ruby surviving unscathed had fallen below fifty percent and were plummeting by the second. The odds of her suffering a fifty percent friend decrease were growing greater by the moment.

At that analysis Penny decided that, despite Papa and Six's wishes, it was time to intervene. Penny released the latches in her back and allowed the hatch to open. The mechanical whir of gears and the cold scrape of sharpened steel sounded from behind her as her blades were extended. In the fraction of a second it took for her to plot her attack vector, Penny set her blades into formation. Power flooded into her legs as she leapt from the roof, clearing half the distance to her friend in ease. The power transferred easily to her blades as she collected them together.

The blades hummed wildly before erupting into a roar as they released a continuous pulse of kinetic energy. Transforming Penny's leap into a dive bomb as she flew towards the White Fang surrounding Ruby. With a twist, Penny angled her feet and smashed down into the crowd of faunus. A thunderous shockwave rang out and a crater was smashed into the concrete docks. The unfortunate White Fang that hadn't moved in time white flying. Shellshock rippled through the faunus.

"P-Penny!?" Ruby asked "What are you-

"Don't worry friend Ruby." Penny smiled

Penny's blades extended and hovered next to her as the Faunus began to recover.

"I'm combat ready."

As softly as I could, I finished connecting the chains to the shelving. Trying with extreme difficulty to avoid making any undue noise. There was a large possibility this plan wouldn't work. So I was going to have to play by ear. There were a lot of variables in this I wouldn't be able to account for and it wouldn't be much for things to go sideways. But if it worked, it'd significantly cut down the amount of work I'd have to do.

With the chain fastened tight I got into position in the cramped corridor of shelves. The trap was set, I was basically blind, and had no way of knowing it would work. If it didn't, it'd only take one or two stray bullets to kill me and they'd all the free reign to do it.

I took a deep breath.

'Same shit, different day'

I tensed myself, it was time to act.

'Last chance, assholes.'

"I'm only going to give you one shot." I shouted into the darkness.

I could hear the collective White Fang stop moving.

"If any of you have people you care about, families, friends, or loved ones; it doesn't matter-"

I could hear the footsteps racing towards me. I got into position.

"If you have people you care about, this is the only chance I'm giving. Walk away, now."

'No matter what comes. You've made your choice.'

In a joint effort, light erupted from both ends of the corridor as the White Fang opened fire. Bullets collided and ripped through my armor, perforating my coat and armored vest. Sparks flew from my helmet as bullets clipped and glanced off it, or rang as they tore through.

The rounds from both directions continued through and sprayed both ends of the corridor. In their haste to gun me down, they failed to account for shooting each other. Bullets nailed and collapsed people on both sides, at least three of them. Judging by the blood they were spewing, they weren't getting back up either. From my position outside the corridor, I watched as the White Fang gunned each other down while utterly wrecking my armor. The hand dolly sitting it upright flopped over loudly as the bullets imparted their force on it.

"Cease fire!" The swordsman shouted "CEASE FIRE!"

The rifle fire trailed off and the world was engulfed by the darkness again.

"… What are you waiting for, go look." I heard the swordsman growl.

I listened carefully through the ringing in my ears as the remaining White Fang cautiously walked down the corridor. I waited until they were in position.

"What the-"

'bingo'

The fork lift roared to life and I slammed it into reverse. The chains attached to it went taught as they imparted their force onto the affixed shelving. The ones I had dropped on them earlier had been small and relatively light weight. Meant for holding small parcels. These ones were holding massive wooden crates, roughly weighing a couple hundred pounds easy.

The initial pull set the shelf off kilter. I slammed the lift into forward and rammed the shelving, pushing it hard back in the other direction. The shelving heaved.

"SHI-"

Those were the last words of whoever said them. The shelving and crates collapsed downward on the White Fang with a clattering of metal and a sickening crunch. I waited until the noise settled before I climbed off the forklift. It took me a second to find my helmet, but it was the first thing I put on. One of the lenses was cracked, there were dings galore on the mask, and there were a few holes in the helmet. I was going to need to do some major reconstruction later. The darkness faded and I could see the room once more.

It wasn't pretty.

Another three of the White Fang had been crushed under the crates. Not neatly and out of sight either. Parts of them jutted out from the edges of the crates. Arms, legs, torsos, organs, and bone. They'd been crushed brutally. A small movement caught my attention as one of the Fang moved. Their head was sticking out from under a crate, blood pouring from his mouth.

"W… what-" He choked out

I drew my gun and put a round in his head. There was no recovering from what had been done to him. Best case he'd have been stuck in a bed for the rest of his life. Eating through a tube and shitting into a bag.

'I offered them a chance.'

I pulled my armor from the wreckage and examined it. The vest wasn't going to provide much more protection and the duster had been shot full of holes. I put it back on to keep some level of modesty.

'I offered them a chance.'

"The fuck?" A voice said in a breathless squeak

I turned and looked at once had been the end of the corridor. The swordsman was still standing there, color drained from the little I could see of his face. He was the last one alive, and he knew it.

The lenses of my gas mask flared as I stalked towards him, gun drawn and cattle prod humming violently. I had no doubt I looked like a mess, shot full of holes and beat to hell and back. But I only looked it. One on one, nothing but me and him: I'd rip him apart.

I was less than a dozen feet away when he acted. He threw his blades down as far from himself as he could and fell to his knees.

"I-I give up!" he screamed

I leapt and buried the cattle prod in his throat. He let out a strangled scream as the electricity coursed through him.

"I gave you a chance." I growled

I removed the cattle prod and buried my knee into his masked face. I crumbled and I planted that same knee into his chest. I put my weapons away and smashed my fists into the man's face, pummeling him until his mask broke. I didn't stop until he wasn't moving anymore and his face was caked with blood. I loomed over him, waiting for him to make a move. He stayed deathly still.

He wasn't though, dead that is. I checked his neck for a pulse and found it there. I'd likely beaten him into unconsciousness. Good.

I rose and walked to the exit of the warehouse. I'd let him live. He was the only one who'd given up and wasn't in any position to keep causing me trouble. I took a breath and let my heart rate slow. The adrenaline was fading and the pain was starting to ebb back in. Not just from my leg and side though. I could feel it in my fists too. I'd hit him hard.

I walked to the door of the warehouse and shut it behind me. The docks had changed during my brief stint inside. Craters had been blown into the concrete, shipping containers were overturned and collapsing, and bullet holes littered everything. The place had turned into a warzone in the blink of an eye.

'… What'd I miss?'

I was answered by the whine of turbines. The aircraft that had opened fire on us at the start of this flew in low and fast. Fire spewed from the gun ports below the cockpit. The Machine guns were raining hot death down on something further in the docks. The aircraft were moving slow as well, clearly whatever they were shooting at, they wanted dead. Which didn't bode well for the rest of my team.

I grit my teeth and beat feet back into the docks. The pain was catching up with me and I was starting to worry about my leg. The only positive things I could think of were that I hadn't gotten light headed yet and I could still feel my leg.

Which distracted me from the object that was flying at me.

From the air above me fell a human shaped object. Fitting, since it was one. The limp body collided with me and I slammed to the ground. A mop of long hair scattered over my helmet, obscuring my view. Whoever they were, they were heavy. I could feel their limp body pressing down on me. I couldn't immediately tell who it was though. My vision had been obscured before I could register who.

I swiped my hand over them to try and reach the hair covering my mask. I needed to get them off of me. My hand caught something and stopped mid-way. It was firm and supple to the touch. It seemed vaguely round and seemed vaguely fleshy.

The person laying on top of me groaned softly.

'… ah, this is Yang, isn't it?'

I moved my arms between me and Yang and carefully moved her off of me.

"Urgh." Yang groaned

"You still with us Yang?" I asked

"My head hurts."

"Funny, with the fall you-"

"Look out!"

Yang rolled the rest of the way off me in time to avoid the other body that fell from the sky. Unfortunately, I didn't. I felt a knee plant itself in the soft of my stomach, fully cracking my armor. It was followed by the sharp pain of sharpened steel being rammed through my right shoulder. I felt it pass out the other side.

I roared in pain as I tried to comprehend the situation. My eyes adjusted and I got a view of the world around me. Yang had rolled off to the side and was springing to her feet. Over top me now was the pink and brown eyesore that was 'Neo'. She'd removed the handle from her umbrella and revealed that it had a pointy end by ramming it into my shoulder.

The hetero chromatic girl/woman/Halfling looked at me, slightly confused but a pleased air about her. She probably thought she was going to miss.

"YOU FUCKING- RRRRAAAA!-"

I swung my uninjured arm at Neo. I felt a tug on my injured shoulder as the pointy umbrella bit was ripped out and Neo back flipped away. I scrambled away, struggling with my continually mounting injuries. I came to a knee next to Yang. She looked at me for a moment then went wide eyed.

"Oh crap" She started "Are you-"

"Stay focused" I growled

She stared at me uneasily before shifting focus to the eyesore. Neo had this cocksure smirk on her face and was daintly leaning on her umbrella. If my guess was right, she and Yang had been fighting the entire time I was inside the warehouse. Which meant she'd been fighting non-stop with the person who'd put me through a wall twice and had come out of it unharmed. More than that, she might've been winning if the past few seconds were an indicator. This girl had reached at least deathclaw level on my danger meter.

'She's not even as tall as Ruby!'

The eyesore blew a kiss and kicked the tip of her umbrella up towards us. A glowing projectile shot from it and I dove out of the way. My body screamed in protest but I did it anyway. I flopped down and scrambled to get up again.

'ok, quit being a weak bitch and fight already.'

I passed That Gun over to my uninjured left arm and cracked off a shot at Neo. I wasn't as practiced with my left, but her extending her umbrella meant I couldn't have been too bad.

Yang threw herself at Neo her fist cocked back. The instant she was in range though, Neo collapsed her umbrella, spun it, and hit the underside of Yang's head with the hook. Yang recoiled and I saw the glint of metal as Neo attempted to draw the dagger from her umbrella again.

I cracked off another shot. Neo dipped out of the way to avoid it, re-sheathing her dagger in the process. I grit my teeth and forced myself forward. I fired another round and forced Neo to pull back slightly. She was handling Yang's assault well, which meant she was either stronger, faster, or more experienced than she let on.

Yang swung faster, her arms flickering as she tried to be faster than Neo. But the eyesore only avoided the blows until she decided to do something about them. By something, that meant she locked down on one of Yang's arms and twisted. With a lurch, Yang hit the ground on her back. With gusto, Neo twisted harder and buried a knee into Yang's throat. With a dissonant smile, Neo forced down harder on Yang's windpipe.

"Hey, bitch!"

Neo's head snapped around in time to catch my foot in her face.

"Get your hideous color scheme off my teammate."

Despite landing the hit, Neo rolled with it. She flipped away and landed a few yards away, rubbing her face. I followed it up with a few more bullets keeping her at bay. Yang coughed as she collected herself.

"You okay sun-"

The coughing exploded into a roar as Yang sprang to her feet. Her purple eyes turned crimson red and flames erupted from her hair. She glared daggers at Neo.

'oh for fuck's sake.'

Predictably, Yang threw herself at Neo. My injured arm snapped out and grabbed Yang by the hair. Not the smartest move given how much it hurt, but it was my free hand. Yang jerked to a stop and whipped back to look at me. She looked ready to plow me through another wall.

"Don't. Touch. My. Hair." Yang growled

"Then stop getting your ass handed to you."

I loosed another shot at Neo, keeping her at bay.

"I've got her on the ropes." Yang growled, turning around to repeat her previous actions.

I pulled her hair again.

"Stop that!" She shouted

"I will when you have a better idea than running in guns blazing." I growled, reloading

Another projectile was launched from Neo's umbrella. The two of us dove out of the way and Yang tried again. I stopped her again.

"I'm going to punch you!" Yang shouted like an angry child

"-And I'm going to knock you the fuck out!" I shouted, shooting at Neo still. "You keep charging her like you're going to actually hit her, and each time she knocks you on your ass. You realize she's trying to kill you, right?"

"I'll wipe that smug smirk off her face." Yang growled

"No, she'll kill you first."

"No. She. Won't!"

I whipped around and bopped her on the fore head with the handle of my cattle prod.

"Quit being stubborn!"

Neo sprang at us. With a flick, the dagger was free from her umbrella and buried into my upper left arm. It poked clear through to the other side. I howled in pain, if my armor wasn't in shambles, it might've just deflected it.

Yang intervened, finally landing a clean hit on Neo as she punched her in the face. The dagger exited my arm as Neo retreated.

"Quit getting stabbed!" Yang shouted

Neo stood at a distance. Still smiling smugly at the two of us. She looked completely fine. I gripped my new injury, it was getting harder and harder to ignore the pain.

"How long have you been fighting her?" I asked

"Since the start." Yang growled

"Have you managed to even get a hit in yet?"

"…"

"Right. Then you should change tactics."

"Like how?"

"Stop running head first and thinking you can brute force it."

"I can take her."

"No, you clearly can't."

I eyed Neo from a distance. She looked like a hungry animal that had cornered it prey. She was toying with us and was ready to finish it. We needed to end this.

"… Together." I said

"Together?"

"Separated, as we are now, we won't see dawn. Together, we'll mop the floor with her."

Yang looked me up and down and gave a disbelieving chuckle. "Really, looking like that?"

I got into a stance, gun ready and cattleprod humming. "Try me."

Yang blinked, then a familiar cocksure smirk crossed her face.

"Yeah, alright."

"Good, keep rhythm and work with me. I think you'll pick it up."

Yang rolled her eyes and got into a stance next to me.

"Try and keep up." She challenged

The two of us sprang at Neo. I let Yang lead, my wounds keeping me slow. Neo blocked Yang's first straight with the shaft of her umbrella, then deflected the follow-up jab with a swat of the hook. I followed in seamlessly, thrusting the cattle prod at Neo's throat. She recoiled, and I whipped the barrel of my pistol at her.

Her eyes snapped open and she dipped out of the way a fraction of a second before the sparks leapt from the barrel. Her umbrella twirled and hooked onto my wrist. I let her lead me, knowing she'd likely try to get me to hit Yang. Except I didn't, even after she moved me to aim at Yang I continued. I used the momentum to pull at Neo, in an attempt to knock her off balance and drag her with me. She seemed to realize it and released her umbrella in an attempt to stop it.

Yang took the opportunity to swing again as I spun and threw the umbrella away. Neo dipped out of the way and backpedaled. Yang followed it, firing two blasts from her Ember Celica. Neo continued to dodge, flipping backwards as she put space between us and her. I slipped into VATs for a moment, using it to focus on her left leg. She clearly relied on mobility, so removing that was step one. I cracked off two rounds. I knew better than to expect it to bypass her aura so easily. But if her flopping mid flip was an indicator, it hurt.

Yang and I continued our assault. Making sure not to give her an inch. I could tell from the way she was turning though she was trying to lead us backwards. She was trying to get her umbrella back, I could tell. I made every move to keep her from it, every time it looked like she was going to lead off towards it, I'd take a shot at her legs. She was smart enough to prioritize not getting shot first. I couldn't blame her for wanting to recover her only means of defense. Getting shot sucks. Though I wasn't going to give her the opportunity to let her.

I snapped the electrode up towards her slender chin and followed through with a thrust. My wounds were slowing me, they fell short of connecting. She backed off further and I cracked off the last round in the chamber. The cylinder spat its shells as Yang took over the assault. She delivered a measured haymaker that was met with more dodges and dips. Neo was weaved gracefully as changed into a jab and followed it with a low kick

The cylinder snapped shut with a whine and I trained on my enemy again. If I wasn't hurt, I could've taken her myself. If I was properly armed, I could've taken everyone… with some difficulty. If I'd had a moment to plan before everyone jumped off the proverbial cliff, tonight could've been much smoother.

Everything had gone wrong and I was sick of it.

I sprang back into the fray. With a double burst of her gauntlets, Yang rocketed towards Neo. The shorter girl easily sidestepped out of the way. I followed Yang, keeping Neo on her toes with my cattleprod. She barely avoided the electrode at every turn. From the corner of my eye I could See Yang rounding back for a heavy straight. One arm cocked behind her for propulsion and the other ready to swing.

I did my diligence and swiped with the prod, rounding Neo so she'd take the brunt of the hit. She was baited into it, a cocky smirk on her face. It shattered as Yang planted her fist in the back of her skull.

Along with her everything else.

Neo shattered like glass, with the pieces falling to the dirt. They faded out of existence not long thereafter.

"The hell?" I asked

"Tsk, she did it again." Yang growled

"Again?"

I quickly spun around, looking for where the tiny eyesore had disappeared to. I spotted her sitting on a crate, smirking and daintily twirling her umbrella.

"What- but- how did-" I stuttered

"It's probably her semblance." Yang growled

'… Wonderful. Another thing I know jack-shit about.'

With a stretch, Neo stood up from the crate. Cocky as all hell and not yet losing a step.

"I really want to wipe that smirk off her face." Yang said

"Get in line."

Neo strutted towards the two of us, umbrella in both hands. She blurred a moment and suddenly there were two of her. Two cocky smirks on a pair of colorblind eyesores. With a flip, they threw themselves at us. Weaving together well enough I couldn't tell which was real. She came between me and Yang like a knife. She knew if she could separate us she'd have an easier time picking us off. I wasn't having it.

The first time she swung her umbrella, I deflected and countered with my cattleprod. She dipped to avoid it, lowering her umbrella. I grabbed it and used it to maintain distance. With a pull, I dragged her into the electrode. She shattered and I moved to confront the one attacking Yang.

I lunged forward and drove my heel into the back of her knee. If the her sudden rigidness was an indicator, she hadn't expected me to be back so soon.

Yang capitalized on the opportunity, landing a clean hit on her chin. Transforming Neo's slow fall into a careening crash. She hit the ground and spun, whipping her legs around in a circle. Yang and I stepped back as Neo bought herself room. She pushed with her hands and flipped to her feet.

Yang prepared to throw herself in once more but was blocked by the sudden extension of the Umbrella's canopy. Her fist collided with and was stopped by the canvas. The canvas then snapped shut and Neo kicked out at Yang's stomach. It landed solid and Yang recoiled.

I whipped That Gun around and leveled it at Neo's head. I was met with the tip of Neo's umbrella poking into my chest. What followed was hardly a fraction of a moment to acknowledge what was happening, then a sudden burst of force crashing into my chest.

I felt my body leave the ground for several seconds, blown back by the force that had impacted it. The wind was blown from my lungs and I felt my ribs crack. It hurt, but it was a concentrated pain.

The pain I felt after hitting the shipping container behind me was less so. The force of the impact was spread throughout my body. Pain slapped through every nerve for a moment, and I worried she might have broken something. There was a dulling ringing in my ears from my head snapping against the container. I felt myself flop to the ground, sputtering and coughing as my lungs fought to suck the air back in.

"Six!" Yang shouted

Neo took the moment Yang shouted my name to strike. She began to wail upon Yang unabashedly. I watched through blurred vision as Yang struggled to defend and retaliate. Her hair a blazing crown of gold and fire. I could hear her roaring as her anger and frustration were built with each successful hit.

I struggled to my feet. The world wouldn't stop spinning. I leaned against the shipping container for balance.

The glint of steel caught my eye. Neo had drawn her dagger and was moving to skewer Yang. The smaller girl locked Yang's arm at the elbow and brought the pointed object in low.

My addled mind did nothing to dull my reflexes. VATs snapped open for only a few seconds, but in that frame I'd fired the last two rounds in the cylinder. One smacked into the back of Neo's head, and the other hit her in the forearm.

Neo released Yang's arm and bucked forward, a hand moving to the back of her head. Yang stepped back for only a second to orient herself. Then she dove in again. Her right fist came down heavy on Neo's head and the tiny girl slammed into the ground with the force of an angry blonde. This time, it wasn't some illusion bullshit either.

Yang raised her leg to stomp down and Neo struggled to move out of the way in time. She rolled and got to a knee. As Neo tried to push her leg up, Yang pointed her gauntlets at her. Neo stopped, caught with what I assume was a shotgun aimed at her head. Even with 'aura' I was pretty sure a point blank shotgun blast to the face would hurt. This fight was over.

'Fight's over, bitch.'

I stumbled to my feet in time to eat my words. A low whining echoed through the air as one of the aircraft came in low and uncontrolled. It was crashing down hard and barreling towards us.

Most likely sensing an opening, Neo swung her cane and caught the underside of Yang's chin. Yang's head snapped back and Neo sprang away, putting distance between her and the landing zone of the aircraft. Yang was dazed and the craft was closing in fast.

'Fuck!'

I pushed myself hard, my body continuing to protest movement as I cleared the space between me and Yang. I collided with her and we hit the ground. The aircraft fly over us so close it would've ripped us in half had we been standing.

The ground shuddered and the air was filled with sparks and the shrill squeal of metal on concrete. The craft slammed into several stacks of shipping containers. The boomed like thunder as they met the ground and the surrounding area was lit with an explosion of light and heat. I stayed prone until the thundering died down. When it did, I raised my head to survey my surroundings.

I was met with the bowel emptying sight of seeing three more aircraft rocketing towards us, machine guns blazing.

"What the-" Yang groaned, coming back to reality.

"Stay down!" I shouted, grabbing onto her and keeping her down.

Bullets splatter and bits of rock peppered me. The aircraft took their sweep slow enough to make sure they were hitting.

I spared a glance upward to see how close they were to passing.

I instead watched as a massive green laser cleaved them all into two.

The engines died and the machine guns stopped firing. The occupants tumbled from the aircraft as the machines themselves fell ahead of them. They crashed down well behind us. Likely landing in the harbor. I let a moment pass as I tried to register what had transpired.

'… seriously, the fuck did I miss?'

"Uhh..." Yang started "You going to get off me?"

I looked back down and realized I was laying on top of Yang. Having unconsciously moved to cover her.

'shit.'

"Sorry." I grunted, picking myself up painfully.

I offered a hand and she took it. It was less me hauling her up and me standing there though. My body was screaming at me to stop moving.

Yang stood and brushed the dust and rubble off. "Well… that was a thing."

"No kidding." I grunted rubbing my aching wounds. "I thought giant lasers cutting shit in half was normal…"

I looked around, something wasn't right. Yang seemed to notice it too.

"Where did that smug eyesore go?" Yang asked

The whine of a final aircraft was our answer. We watched it rise from the area our teammates had been. The bay doors were open and Torchwick was barely hanging inside of it. His eyesore accomplice was with him, looking as smug as ever despite losing. She seemed to notice us and smirked down at us as the doors began to slide shut. I entered VATs one last time and cracked a shot off at her head.

The last I saw of her before the aircraft left was her flopping back on her ass.

"Ha! Bitch."