Chapter 15: Smoke and Mirrors

XxX

Yang

"...So, if you want Red back, you know where to find me!

XOXO, Neopolitan"

Yang's eyes flashed, fist clenching around the scroll in her hand. The scroll showing some bitch holding a blade to Ruby's throat. Someone was going to die tonight. Weiss's voice echoed from her scroll.

"Yang, don't do anything rash! They clearly want us off our game, we can't give them that advantage."

Yang paused. Rash? No. She was going to burn that "Neopolitan" alive methodically. Save Ruby, then turn her captor into human paste. Sounded like a great plan.

"I'm going to get my sister back."

"Yang, we have to be careful-"

"Fuck being careful! My sister's life is on the line! I'm going in!"

"Fine! Then I'm going with you! Blake, watch Torchwick. We'll call you in if we need reinforcements. Penny and Sun are on their way."

The scroll went silent for a few moments. Eventually, Blake's reluctant voice crackled through.

"I'll keep watch. Yang, Weiss, be careful."

Yang inhaled. Careful? Careful? Her sister had a stiletto at her throat and they cared about careful - Yang exhaled. They were right. Careful. She wasn't going to lose herself. Saving Ruby was what mattered.

"Alright, Blake. I will. We'll have our team leader back soon enough. Weiss, meet me on the roof."

"Got it."

XxX

Yang pulled herself up the last few rungs of the roof to find Weiss waiting at the top. Weiss tapped her lips and pointed her to the other end of the roof. Ruby was there, and she looked unharmed, she was all right. Ruby was going to be safe, but standing next to her was the bitch who'd captured her. Looking for them in the docks, if Yang had to guess. Served her right. She wouldn't know what hit her. She turned back to Weiss and nodded once, motioning to Ruby with her left hand and at the girl with her right. You get my sister, I'll take the girl. Weiss nodded and twitched her rapier, black glyphs swirling into existence beneath them. Yang grinned, readying her fists. Weiss held up three fingers. Then two. Then one.

Go!

Yang launched herself forward. Her right foot thudded into the roof, fists firing to give her just a bit more speed -

The roof shattered.

XxX

Blake

"Alright, let's keep it moving, the next ship's almost here!" Torchwick's cane was flicking from faunus to faunus as he ordered them around like beasts. It was all Blake could do not to jump out and challenge him where he stood, but she needed to preserve the mission's integrity. They were there for reconnaissance, to figure out the new White Fang's plans. This needed to happen. It mattered more than any insult to her people.

Torchwick abruptly stopped waving his cane. He pulled out a scroll, eyes narrowing. Blake repositioned herself, ears twitching slightly beneath her bow, zeroing in on the robber's mouth.

"...Only two? Well? Oh, she's the odd one out? Well, I think it's time to show our friends that curiosity also kills half-cats. Where? ...Thanks, Neo, always a pleasure." He closed his scroll, spinning to point his cane a few feet to the left of her hiding spot. He hummed quietly, tilting his head.

"Now, if I were a meddling faunus, where would I be..."

Blake's eyes widened. She pulled her blade from its sheath, readying herself to move.

"Here?" He fired. Blake winced as the shot impacted in a nook to her left, spraying fire around it. She couldn't let one of those hit.

"No? How about here?" He moved his cane and fired again. Blake could feel the heat from that explosion.

"How about...here?" The cane was pointing directly at her hiding spot. She had to move, but where, there weren't any hiding spots left - reconsider the problem - Or she could not hide, that might work. Or it might get her killed. Blake dropped a clone into the nook, using the momentum to launch herself into plain view, Gambol Shroud unsheathed. Torchwick turned to face her as the White Fang members near her raised their weapons.

"And the cat shows herself! What, got tired of skulking around?"

Blake steeled herself, ignoring Torchwick as she turned to her fellow faunus. Here's hoping this worked.

"Brothers and sisters of the White Fang! Our cause has been corrupted by the dirty work of humans seeking to enslave us once more!"

Torchwick's eyes widened slightly.

"Oh, what's this? You think I corrupted your cause? Well, little lady, I'm sorry to tell you I come with the full aegis of your leaders!"

Blake grinned. Mistake. She lowered her body weight, tensing her muscles. Now she knew how to handle this.

"Then our leaders do not have the best interests of our people in mind, or the strength to see our goals realized. Roman Torchwick, I charge you with three failures."

She blurred into motion, blade slashing at Torchwick's cane as he blocked her strikes easily. The words she needed to use were already burned into her mind.

"Your mind is slow."

He flipped his cane around, hooked end barely missing her sword. She redoubled her assault, sensing his strikes slowing.

"Your soul is weak."

His eyes narrowed as he slashed suddenly downwards, cane moving too quickly to block. Overcommit. She dropped a clone into place, launching herself inside his guard as her left hand knocked his cane upwards, spinning behind him, blade snaking around his throat.

"You are unfit for the White Fang."

The surrounding White Fang members stood stock-still. If she were just another huntress, they probably would have jumped in. But when she used the formula Sienna Khan had used to depose her father? None of them would dare to interfere. Torchwick laughed, ugly chuckles shattering the silence.

"That's rich, for someone who fled because she wasn't okay with killing a few humans. Pretty neat tactic, though. I'll have to remember that set of phrases. Sort of like command words for these pets, yeah?"

Blake tightened her grip, sword cutting into Torchwick's aura.

"You have no idea why I fled. And speciesism isn't the best idea when I have a blade at your neck."

Torchwick tapped the blade, other hand fiddling at his belt.

"I wouldn't do that, kittycat. See, my...associate is under strict orders not to kill...most of your friends. And she's pretty good about following orders when I'm there to keep her honest. But if I'm not there anymore? She'll get...stabby. Especially if I'm dead. Who knows what she'll do then?"

Blake paused, mind whirring. She'd have to make him retreat, then. How, though? Also...

"Most?"

He shrugged minutely, hands settling at his side. A glint caught the corner of Blake's eyes. She looked up for an instant and relaxed at the two forms she saw vaulting over a rooftop. Reinforcements. Now all she needed to do was stall-

"We didn't need Yellow. Why, did you?"

His finger twitched. The ground exploded.

XxX

Yang

The world spun slightly as Yang pulled herself to her feet, shaking off the cobwebby feeling of mild head trauma. Where...where was she? What was she doing? Something about...Ruby. Someone had Ruby at swordpoint. She blinked, setting herself into a fighting stance, eyes scanning the dank gloom of the warehouse floor. Neopolitan was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Ruby. She rechambered her fists, scanning side to side. A hand tapped her shoulder and she whirled, fists up.

"Relax, Yang. It's me." Weiss dropped her rapier to her side. "Neopolitan got you with some sort of illusion. She and Ruby vanished when the roof shattered."

Yang's eyes widened.

"Prove it's you."

Weiss paused.

"What do you mean, prove it's me?"

"I mean just what it sounds like. This bitch uses illusions, right? What did I ask when you and Ruby made up?"

Weiss paused.

"Whether the room was on fire?"

Yang relaxed.

"All right. You're good. Any idea where my sister is?"

"No. I don't see anything here-"

A blur of motion suddenly appeared between them, heel smashing into Yang's face before she could react. She flew backwards, flipping into a fighting stance. Weiss twisted in midair to spring off of a glyph, landing in a fighting stance, eyes widening.

"I didn't even see her! Who on Remnant is that fast?"

Yang grimaced.

"My uncle is. And if she's on his level, we might have a problem."

Her gauntlets clicked as she set herself into a fighting stance. Weiss nodded.

"Standard procedure against faster enemies then. Tower."

Yang nodded, launching herself forwards to land besides Weiss as Weiss stabbed her rapier into the ground. A dome of ice grew from glyphs around them, one opening left open right in front of them. Yang glanced over at Weiss.

"You think she's that overconfident?"

Weiss shrugged minutely.

"She could have killed you. She didn't. I think that says something about her, don't you?"

Yang grinned darkly.

"That she didn't think I was a threat. Well, guess she'll see about that."

Weiss nodded as they turned to face the opening, readying their weapons. It was time to stop playing nice. Yang raised a fist to her bicep and fired, lilac eyes flickering as the bullet impacted her aura. One wall of the dome exploded. Yang and Weiss whirled to see nothing but an empty warehouse wall and a few shards of ice tumbling down through the air, some slowing and stopping in the backdraft from the hit. Where was she- Yang's eyes widened. Those shards weren't moving in backdraft. She dropped a fist behind her, launching herself forward, feeling something shatter behind her as her fist met fabric-

The girl spun her umbrella as she parried Yang's punch, curtseying before leaping backwards into nothingness once more. Yang's grin sharpened, eyes flashing as she turned to Weiss.

"Got enough left for a freezer-burn?"

Weiss's eyes widened.

"I think so, ye-oh. Oh. "

"Yep. Let's finish this."

Weiss nodded once, raising her rapier and stabbing it into the ground. Ice radiated out from the entry point. Yang chambered her gauntlets before leaping, spinning in midair, fist rotating behind her and firing. Try that hiding thing again, 'Neopolitan'. Watch what happens.

Yang smashed into the icy floor, Fire dust exploding from her hands, blanketing the room in fog and steam. She turned to Weiss.

"Cool it down."

The other girl nodded, flicking her rapier twice. A blue wave radiated through the fog, condensing and crystallizing the water droplets into tiny ice crystals. Ice crystals that slowly began settling onto dozens of silhouettes of short women holding umbrellas. Weiss and Yang glanced at each other, slowly sliding into a fighting stance. One of the silhouettes vanished, softly shattering in what was suddenly a deathly silent room. Moments later, the silence was split by a scream in a familiar voice. Ruby's voice.

Yang charged into the fray.

XxX

Blake

Blake's vision blurred as she lifted herself slowly to one arm, eyes flickering around. Looked like she was still alive. And - she tested each of her limbs - her aura had held up against that explosion, if only barely. She pulled herself up against a nearby storage container, wincing slightly as some faint bruises made themselves known. Judging by the noises, the fight had moved a few dozen feet away. Sun and Penny had probably finally made it. She slowly crept towards the edge of the container, hand swiping out to grab her discarded blade. She relaxed as it slid into her hands, leaning out a little further to survey the battle. Sun and Penny looked to be holding their own, swords and gunchucks whirling in concert almost like they were wielded by one hand. Nonetheless, it wasn't enough - not when they had to fight the White Fang and Torchwick.

Blake crept closer, slowly making her way from container to container around the fight, stopping once she got within six feet. This was as close as she'd get while staying hidden. Time to wait for an opportunity. She settled in for a moment, watching the fight progress, seeing Torchwick get slowly driven back to her position before - Now - she launched herself forward, landing behind Torchwick as a strike from Sun's staff left him off balance for just long enough for the blunt end of Gambol Shroud to smash into his Aura. Torchwick leapt sideways, eyes widening slightly.

"My, my. Cats really do have nine lives, don't they." His voice tightened almost imperceptibly, belying his confident words.

Blake grinned tightly as Sun stepped up next to her.

"I thought all your information would have covered that piece. I don't die that easily."

Torchwick tipped his hat.

"Of course not. You just run."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" she responded angrily, eyes widening.

Torchwick grinned.

"Don't you know already?"

Sun rechambered the rounds of his gunchucks.

"Blake, don't let him get to you. This is where it ends, Torchwick. Vale police are on their way."

He sighed.

"If that's how we're going to do it, then I guess the fun will have to end." He flipped his cane backwards onto his shoulder, jauntily tipping his cap. The head of his cane fired, launching backwards and hooking onto the corner of a nearby shipping container.

"Well then? Attack." He said, beckoning them forward.

Sun and Blake launched themselves forward at him, already knowing they'd be just moments too slow. The motor in the bandit's cane whirred, smoothly yanking him out of harm's way to vanish behind yet another shipping container. Blake launched herself over the container to see...nobody. Torchwick was gone. She sighed, dropping down to look at Sun and Penny.

"He's gone."

"Damn. We'll keep looking." Sun replied, exhaling sharply.

Blake nodded.

"Thanks for bailing me out. Did you finish up with JNPR?"

Sun shook his head.

"We left them to it. Vale police were on their way when we got the message from 'Neopolitan'. We rushed here as fast as we could. Where are the others?"

Blake looked towards the warehouse behind her.

"Still in there. Fighting Neopolitan."

XxX

Weiss

Her rapier blurred out, barely blocking a stiletto heel as it swept towards her face. The girl behind it grinned before vanishing again, another statue shattering into nothingness, ice crystals drifting to the floor. Yang whirled to face her.

"Any luck?"

Weiss shook her head.

"Almost, but no. She's still too fast."

Yang cursed under her breath.

"She can't keep this up forever."

Another statue shattered, this time right between them. They launched forward, fist and rapier smoothly blocked by foot and parasol respectively before the little girl vanished once more. Yang launched herself after the fleeing ice crystals, shattering through statue after statue as Weiss launched herself above the warehouse floor, glyphs propelling her to the same point Yang was converging on when - pink eyes filled her vision and a hand deftly redirected her thrust, tripping Yang with the blade of her rapier. They pulled themselves to their feet. Weiss inhaled. Her reserves weren't high enough to keep doing this.

"This doesn't end well for us. She can keep this up for gods knows how long."

Yang nodded.

"She's still playing with us. We're not good enough to land blows without being technically perfect or - " She paused, muscles tensing. "This is going to hurt."

Weiss's eyes widened.

"What is?"

Yang inhaled, eyes flickering for a moment.

"I know what I need to do. You have any more Fire dust left?"

Weiss checked her reserves before shaking her head.

"Not enough. Not after the battle today."

Yang nodded.

"Figures. Do you trust me?"

"Yes, Yang, why?"

"This." Yang fired twelve times, emptying her chambers into the surrounding statues, starting to reload her weapons as the statues tinkled to the ground. Weiss's eyes widened. Neopolitan wouldn't just miss an opportunity like that - as a stiletto suddenly slammed into Yang's aura, breaking it and stabbing into her side, Yang grinned darkly.

"Whoops. Someone didn't do their research."

Her eyes flashed to a pure, deep red. Her fist slammed down into the other girl's knee, buckling it downwards with an awful crackling noise. The illusions around Neopolitan vanished as she yanked her leg backwards, barely managing to stand upright, Aura flickering around her. Yang coughed, holding a hand to her side.

"Funny thing about Aura. It does its best, but a strong enough blow will break right through. Takes a lot of power, to be sure. Good thing you gave me the motivation to pull it off. Weiss?"

Weiss nodded, spinning her rapier into lightning dust, black glyph spinning into existence.

"Are you planning to come quietly?"

The girl pointed at herself and curtseyed on her good leg, placing her parasol on the ground and raising her hands. Weiss lunged forward, glyph propelling her as the hilt of her rapier connected with the girl who - shattered. Moments later, the rest of the statues followed, revealing a hole in the wall and a curled up red shape in the corner of the room. Weiss inhaled softly.

"Neo's gone." She turned back to Yang to find her kneeling by the red bundle, untying the fabric to reveal their team leader as her eyes flickered back and forth from lilac to red, smiling through her tears.

"Ruby's alive, Weiss. A few minor wounds, one largeish puncture wound, but nothing that won't heal."

Weiss's eyes widened as she stepped over to the body, noting with relief that Ruby was still breathing and that nothing looked broken. She carefully pulled back the hood covering her partner's face and gasped. Ruby's face was covered in blood. Yang tensed, wiping away as much as she could, gradually revealing an unmarred face, when Weiss saw the message carved delicately into Ruby's forehead.

"XOXO-Neo. :-)"

Yang exhaled sharply. Weiss put a hand on her shoulder.

"She'll heal. She's healed from worse."

Yang nodded.

"She's alive. That's what matters. And we'll find and gut the one who did this to her."

Weiss nodded back as she knelt, carefully lifting Ruby onto two white glyphs.

"Let's go home."

Yang smashed another hole in the warehouse wall, wincing at the effort. The two of them walked out of the opening, Ruby slowly drifting behind them. As the wall collapsed and they stepped out through an opening, Weiss saw an SDC bullhead fly off into the horizon, undoubtedly carrying Torchwick's ill-gotten gains. This wasn't over, not by a long shot. But right now, she had more important things to worry about.

A/N: First off, I'm really sorry about the update delay. College has been insane. Hoping to build up a backlog over break so this doesn't happen again. I have many plans for this story. Hopefully life doesn't get in the way.

Second: Yes, this is going to be darker than RWBY proper. This is about as gory as it should get, but we're in the T rating for a reason. Fights will have consequences. And the stakes are only ramping up.

Storywise:

Blake/Sun/Penny vs Torchwick: I view the faunus as a super-tribalistic society with lots of these sorts of ritualized mechanisms for transfer of power (this'll get covered in more depth if/when the story hits menagerie), but also consider that Blake is royalty to a lot of these faunus, de facto if not du jour. The Belladonna name has power. Also, Torchwick continues to be, well, Torchwick all over the place. That last conversation between him and Blake will return.

Weiss/Yang vs. Neo: I felt the show never really...did enough with Neo's powers and skills. Speed and an illusion semblance is a pretty damn useful combination, and I've only shown some of what it's capable of here. Let's just say that Weiss and Yang should be very glad Neo likes to play with her food(and also that she wasn't allowed to kill Weiss).

Overall: the story is going to quiet down for the next arc or so, most likely. Don't expect much serious combat for a few chapters. It's time for the fallout.

Please review! (and also suggest world of remnants!)