Firethorn

Silence.

A faint scuffle. Her ears twitched and swiveled. The noise was too far away to be an active threat. They were in the clear.

Golden eyes slid open as Blake pulled herself away from the wooden door she was crouched in front of. She glanced back into the narrow hallway at the two women queued up behind her. Weiss was resting on her haunches, ice blue orbs narrowed and hard. Yang stood behind her, Ember Celica deployed on her wrists. She looked a little nervous as her gaze slid about, and Blake could see her shifting her weight from leg to leg.

Not that Blake could really blame her. Aside from their small excursion to Ashfall, this was the first time in over four years that Yang had been in a team situation. The fact that it was her old teammates that she abandoned probably did nothing to take away the tension that the faunus could see stretching at the other woman's muscles. It didn't help any that Yang believed one of the said teammates hated her with a fiery passion. Blake sighed internally. While Weiss had held up her agreement to stop being openly hostile toward Yang so far, she had done so by entirely ignoring the blonde's existence. The two hadn't spoken a single word to each other on the trip to the multi-level complex where they now were, nor as they had snuck their way up several flights of stairs and abandoned offices. They hadn't even looked at one another.

Blake didn't know if she should be upset they weren't acknowledging one another, or relieved that they weren't trying to tear out each other's throats.

"Well?" Weiss asked brusquely, voice soft even in the surrounding quiet.

"The next room's clear, but this is definitely the place. I can hear movement, and smell other faunus." The info Velvet' s network of informants had managed to pick up about this location hadn't been very specific, as none of her contacts had been willing to get too close lest they be discovered. It had been up to them to determine the exact floor or floors their enemies were operating out of in the complex. They hadn't really been worried.

"The door?"

Blake reached up and tried turning the silver knob, but it resisted. "Locked."

"So let's break it down!" Yang whispered, eyes darting about. "I don't like just standing here!"

Blake could see the anger set into Weiss' face. The heiress seethed, "Well I don't like dealing with y-" she cut herself off as she caught Blake's eyes. The white-haired Huntress, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, attempting to calm herself. "We're not breaking the door down," she said shortly.

"Well why not?" Yang shot back, much to Blake's frustration. Why couldn't her partner see she wasn't helping anything by being confrontational?

"Because, Yang," Blake started before Weiss could voice the sure to be colorful thoughts on the tip of her tongue, "we don't want them to know we're here until the last possible moment." She gently slid her hand down the wood until it touched the gap at the bottom. Her shadow flickered so briefly Yang was sure she had imagined it. A heartbeat later there was the sound of someone fumbling with the handle on the opposite side of door. Yang tensed.

"I thought you said it was clear!" she hissed, lilac irises trained on the entrance, muscles tensed in preparation for what was coming.

When the door swung open, though, Yang discovered that she was not quite as prepared as she had believed. On the other side, looking at them with blank, violet eyes, was another Blake. Only this wasn't a human or faunus. This wasn't even alive. Everything about was the deepest black Yang had ever seen, and seemed to absorb the very light around. Indistinct edges merely hinted at clothes, and it had no mouth or expression. Only those glowing purple slits. Black mist floated off of it in small, eddying curls. The most unsettling thing about it though was the complete lack of noise. Not a single sound escaped from it. No breath, no movement. Nothing. After all, shadows were silent.

Blake straightened before reaching out a hand and touching the other her. It vanished, melting away as if it had never been there, and when Yang blinked, she found herself wondering if maybe she hadn't imagined it in the first place. Her partner glanced at her with sly golden eyes though, a small smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth. "Gambol Shroud's not the only thing I've improved in the past few years," she said lightly, before turning and walking through the door.

Weiss slid to her feet, as well, and spared the still frozen Yang a glance over her shoulder. "Scrape your jaw off the floor, Xiao Long, we have work to do," she growled.

Yang blinked again and closed her mouth, unaware that it had fallen open. She said nothing, instead silently following Weiss into the new room.

It was a large, abandoned office space. A matrix of cubicles stretched out in a square that dominated the majority of the area. Off to the left, Yang could make out several closed off rooms with glass walls, what she could only assume had, at one point in time, been supervisor offices. A few decrepit chairs remained in the room, scattered at random desks or toppled over in the middle of the narrow walkways. There was a thick layer of dust coated over everything. Even the dark grey carpet let loose small puffs of it as they walked. To their right was a wall of windows through which streamed the pale light of the afternoon sun. Across from them was another opening, beyond which could be seen another section that looked almost identical to this one, from what Yang could tell.

All in all, it looked like a normal office. The blonde couldn't help but notice there was something missing though.

"Where are they?" she questioned softly. There was no movement in either of the two sections, and Yang couldn't hear a single sound.

The ears atop Blake's head rotated slightly while she paused. "Sounds like their up above us, actually."

Weiss sighed. "So back out into the hallway then?"

Blake smiled. "No, this is exactly where I wanted us to be." She began walking forward, towards the other section, before continuing, "there's a staircase leading up to the next two floors on the other side of the wall here. Rather than come through the front door that I'm positive they're watching, we can sneak up the stairs and take them by surprise."

Weiss' brow scrunched as she considered. "As solid a plan as that sounds, Blake, do you really think they won't be watching the stairs too? How on Remnant is that supposed to surprise them?"

The grin on the faunus' face got even wider. "Whoever said the stairs was how we're going to surprise them?" Both of the other women gave her confused looks. "Do you remember the Mistral mission, Weiss?"

Weiss' eyes widened slightly, and she turned to look out the windows. The corners of her mouth lifted. "Blake Belladonna, you crafty woman."

"Surprise tactics are sort of my specialty."

"Would someone tell me exactly what's going on?" Yang interrupted, causing Weiss' expression to immediately sour. "I never went on the 'Mistral mission,' so I'm kinda in the dark here. Not really a place I enjoy being."

"Given how you've been living the past few years, I would have thought you'd have grown accustomed to it by now," Weiss clipped.

Yang's fists clenched, but, to Blake's surprise, she didn't rise to the jab, instead biting her lip and turning away from the shorter woman.

Weiss scoffed and looked like she was about to say something, so Blake interjected before she could as she gave her teammate a look. "We did an operation in Mistral late last year. Lots of bad guys, a couple Grimm. Setup was very similar to our situation here, and we found a way to use it to our advantage."

The brawler turned to her, one golden eyebrow raised. "And how'd you do that?"

"Let's just say spectacularly. For now, you and I just need to focus on getting up the stairs and assaulting them from there. Weiss will take care of her own part."

Yang narrowed her eyes slightly, but nodded. "Fine. Then let's get to this. The faster we clear this place out, the faster we can find Roman."

"And the faster you can mess that up again," Weiss breathed. Blake shot her a another warning look. Fortunately, it appeared as though Yang hadn't heard her, as the blonde had already moved into the other section and towards the enclosed stairwell on the left.

"Weiss," Blake said in a low voice, "I thought we agreed you wouldn't antagonize her."

"Openly," she responded curtly.

"That was pretty open. I'm just glad she didn't hear it. We're trying to be quiet, and Yang is anything but when she's angry. Are you trying to jeopardize the mission?"

Weiss looked almost shocked. She took a deep breath while Blake's words sunk in. "You're right, of course. I'm sorry, I let my anger get the better of me again. I'll keep it in check."

Blake nodded. "Good. Get in position. Yang and I will begin our attack in two minutes."

Weiss turned and moved in the opposite direction, toward the windows. Blake returned to her partner's side.

"Everything alright?" Yang questioned.

"Yeah, just needed to remind the Ice Queen about something. Let's get up these stairs. We'll have to time this right."

Blake opened the door into the stairwell softly, making as little noise as possible in case there was anybody waiting at the top. They seemed to be clear, though, and they moved up the short flight of metal steps with no issue. At the top, they were met with another door, this one with a small window. Yang reached it first and peered through the glass.

"Oh…that's where they are."

Blake sidled up beside her and pressed her face next to the blonde's, trying to ignore the heat that radiated from Yang's skin and threatened to make her head spin. On the other side of the window was another office space similar to those below them, only this one was most definitely still in use. There were enemies scattered throughout the entire floor. Some were stationed at a row of terminals on their left, while others seemed to be patrolling. A few were caught up in discussions, and they could even make out one or two lounging. All of them were wearing the telltale Grimm mask of the White Fang. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Blake wondered if Adam would be pleased to know his legacy had persisted even after the organization's destruction.

She stepped back from the window and met Yang's eye. "You ready? We're going loud and hard." Yang nodded, giving her gauntlets a cock for emphasis. "Alright, let's get this started then." Blake reached into the pouch at her back and pulled out a small circular device. She knelt in front of the door as she pulled the plastic film off of the back of it, and secured it to the metal just below the handle.

"What's that?"

"You'll see. Soon as the door's open, we're going." Blake twisted the dial on top of the device, and a red light began blinking on its side. She straightened and pulled Gambol Shroud from her back, separating it into both blades. "Three…" she breathed, watching the light. "Two…one…" With a flash and a loud pop, the area where the door's latch had been disappeared. The force of the small explosion blew the whole thing open.

Blake was already through the opening, katana converted to the pistol. Her aim rove across the room, finger squeezing the trigger whenever a target presented itself. Two enemies went down before they had even registered the blast. Those that caught on more quickly dove for cover among the cubicles and desks. Another fell as he attempted, rather pitifully, to hide behind a potted plant.

Their confusion didn't last for long, though, and an opponent from either side rushed at Blake, eyes and blades glinting in equal measure. The faunus switched her weapon back to a sword in time to bring it up in defense as her sheath caught the other. She twisted her wrists, throwing each of her enemies' weapons and stumbling their attack momentarily. It was all she needed. She slammed the tips of her swords into the floor, and a clone burst into existence on either side of her. Both of them took down their respective opponents in a single slash and vanished in a blur. Another duo ducked out from behind a cubicle in front of them and sprinted toward where Blake was still crouching, intent on ending her before she could attack again.

What they didn't expect was Yang to plant a hand on her partner's back and leap over her. Her right foot swung around viciously as she came down, and the top of her boot connected solidly with the side of the first faunus' head. He flew to the side. The other faunus took an unsteady step backward and tried to bring her weapon up to guard, but Yang had already fired Ember Celica, rocketing her right elbow deep into her gut. The faunus doubling over, eyes and mouth wide as the air was forcefully expelled from her lungs. Yang smashed her left fist into her face, knocking her unconscious.

By now, the rest of the men and women had been a counterattack, and guns blazed at them from all directions. Bullets chewed apart the carpet at their feet and drilled holes through the cheap plastic of the cubicles. Yang grabbed Blake and yanked them to the side, sliding down behind an overturned table.

The wood felt rough as she braced her back against it and yelled to the faunus over the din of gunfire, "What now?"

Blake pushed herself up and glanced one golden eye out towards the wall of windows. Beside her, Yang flinched as a bullet tore through the table and grazed her arm, drawing a thin line of blood.

"Now that!" Blake called back, and Yang followed her gaze, lifting her eyes up over the lip. Lilac irises widened in surprise at what she saw. There, outside of the window and standing on a glowing glyph in mid-air, was none other than Weiss Schnee. Yang only saw her for a moment, Myrtenaster gleaming in her hand as she pulled it into its ready position at her chin. Her other sword, the short saber that Yang had heard her refer to as Pyracantha was held in a reverse grip in her right hand, held underneath her rapier. Then she was white blur, and Blake was pulling Yang down behind the table.

There was the sound of shattering glass, and an overpowering roar that Yang had heard on many occasions before. A few screams and shouts of panic accompanied it but were quickly drowned out. After a few more moments the sound died away, and Yang looked back over the edge. What she saw had her mouth falling open in shock for the second time that day. The entire wall of windows was shattered, and the cubicles closest to it burnt to ashes. Those faunus unfortunate enough to get caught in the massive wave of fire Weiss had produced were lying on the ground, smoke curling off of their singed bodies. Yang could see that they still breathed, but they would not be rejoining the fight. Many had survived though, and as Yang watched, one with a rifle slid smoothly upward from under a desk, barrel aimed directly at the heiress' head as she stood amongst the fluttering ashes.

Yang made to move, to get to the threat before it could be actualized. She hadn't even lifted her leg to take a step, though, when something was wrapping itself around the man's arm. He was pulled to the ground with a cry that quickly became a scream as ice crept over his entire body, freezing him solid. Yang stared him, not quite comprehending exactly what had just happened. Then she saw the line of ice seemingly hovering in the air, and followed it back to Weiss' hand, and found herself even more confused than before. The white-haired Huntress was no longer holding the short saber Pyracantha. Instead, she now gripped a whip in her right hand, the flexible part encrusted in ice.

Weiss gave it a flick as a raven faunus swooped in from her right, hoping to catch her off guard. There was a brief glimmer of blue light, and suddenly the Huntress was one again holding the sword, the whip vanished into thin air. She blocked the blade aimed for her ribs with ease. She thumbed a switch on the bottom of the saber's handle and flame sprung to life, wreathing the sword in flame. With a small smirk, the Schnee Company's vice president sheered clean through her opponent's weapon and delivered a vicious slash across her chest.

"What the hell?" Yang murmured as Weiss spun and sent a series of glowing projectiles flying from Myrtenaster's tip. Her heart thumped painfully in her chest. She knew that fighting style. Switching between Dust crafted weapons as the situation dictated. She had seen if before, fought against it before.

Blake had known that Yang would be surprised by Weiss' new weapon. "We've all changed since you left, Yang."

Yang turned to look at her, eyes red from what Blake hoped was the battle and not their comrade. "Why does she fight like Cinder?"

"Because Cinder was strong." And with those words, Blake dashed out and forward, in between the rows of cubicles. An enemy popped out, pistol swinging around, but Blake blurred momentarily, and her clone slammed a brutal attack into his stomach. He keeled over, and her pace never broke. Yang swung herself out from cover and ran up the right hand side. Two faunus crouching in front of her barely even registered her footsteps before she rammed her fist into the back of the one's head, pitching him forward. The other grabbed a knife from his belt with his off hand and slashed upward with it. Yang fired Ember Celica, spinning her around the attack, and crashing her elbow into the base of his neck. He, too, fell, and the blonde was on her way again.

With Weiss' appearance, the number of opponents quickly dwindled. Her blast of fire had taken out more than half of them, and between the three of them, the rest did not last very long. Yang swept a wolf faunus' legs out from underneath of him, spilling him to the floor. His gun clattered away as her fist soared toward his face. She froze mere inches from his nose, however, when Blake called, "Yang, wait!" She looked up questioningly at her partner. "If we have any questions, we'll get our answers from him."

The blonde nodded and pressed a knee into his back, pinning his hands down. Weiss and Blake, weapons sheathed, walked over to the terminals.

"They're probably encrypted," the faunus commented as they approached.

"I'm sure they are," Weiss returned, running a pale hand along the keyboard on the closest ones. "But I'm also sure the SDC's system can crack that encryption in less than a day."

"Hard drives, then?"

The heiress nodded.

There was a tiny scraping sound off in one of the singed cubicles to their right, but Yang paid it no mind as her teammates began looking for a panel to remove from the computer. When the trembling antlers of a deer faunus appeared over the top of one of the plastic walls, followed soon by a shaky gun and soot-blackened, injured torso, she realized that might not have been the best idea. Pain-hazed grey eyes locked on her and his finger squeezed the trigger.

She felt the bullet as it whizzed by her cheek and bored into the floor behind her. She leapt to her feet, Ember Celica flying out behind her and blazing to life, pitching her forward. He tried to raise his gun again, but her fist crunched his nose in before he could, and he crumpled to the floor.

"Yang, are you alright?" A voice from her side asked. She turned to find her partner watching her with concerned golden eyes. Weiss, determining the threat to be over, turned back to the computer.

Yang exhaled, letting the adrenaline settle in her system. That had been close. Too close. If her Aura had still been working properly, the shot would probably have only knocked her out, but as it was, a bullet to the face would have outright killed her. There had been a time not so long ago where she may have not minded that so much. But now…she glanced at Blake. Now that was not the case.

Movement behind her partner caught her attention, and Yang's eyes wandered back over her shoulder. Lilac orbs widened in horror at what she saw.

The faunus she had left lying on the floor to deal with the injured enemy was moving into a kneeling position. A small pistol slid out of his sleeves as he leveled the gun steadily at Weiss' back

Yang pushed past Blake, but his finger was already squeezing the trigger.

With a loud crack, the gun fired.

A/N: So, um...hey guys. Sorry I'm late. This has been an absolutely hellishly busy week, and I really couldn't find time to write. those of you who I keep PM conversations with will note that I haven't replied all week. I sincerely apologize for that. At the same time I felt the first bit of writer's block I have in awhile. On the other hand, because this chapter came out after the episode, I got to add a whole new level to Weiss' character, including her new weapon, so there's that.



Anyway, let me know what you guys thought of the chapter! Mostly just exposition on the girls' new abilities and fighting styles.

Announcement time! I am most likely going to be taking next week off, though I am not sure one way or another yet. I've been running myself really ragged lately, and I'm feeling incredibly burnt out and worn down, so I want to recharge myself. I wasn't terribly pleased with this chapter, and I want to be sure to bring you guys only the best quality when it comes to Redemption. Wanted to let you guys know so you won't be surprised if I don't update next week

Hope you all understand, I love you