Renegades (Act XIV)

2-DAY EARLY RELEASE FOR ALL OF MY PATRONS! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

The point about halfway through this chapter was when my roleplay partner realized she wasn't enjoying RWBY anymore and stopped her part of the roleplay. I waited many months before deciding to finish the story myself by writing both Blake's and Weiss' parts. Because of this you'll probably notice a shift in how Blake's parts are written.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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															Act XIV.

It was pain that eventually forced her from sleep, but it was the immediate thought of Weiss that had Blake's eyes opening wide, inhaling sharply when she tried to adjust her sight to the stark light that hung overhead.

An ache split her skull, blurring her surroundings to a hodgepodge of shapes, and any move she tried to make was cut short by the restraints tide behind the chair in which she sat. She tried once and didn't try again. It was all over anyway.

"I think you know why you're here."

It was a rough voice, fatigued, and the moment her sight saw fit to center, Blake recognized him as one of the men from before. The one with the nasty grip and a hell of a tug.

Blake wondered wryly if his stomach was all right, though a part of her hoped for at least a bit of internal bleeding - anything that might somehow equal the feeling of Weiss being ripped from her arms, but she doubted that was possible.

"You're charged with kidnapping - not to mention our sources back in Vale say you were affiliated with White Fang." He ran a hand through his short hair, throwing the papers in the other down onto the table. Judging from his still-disheveled appearance, it probably had only been a few hours at best since the incident. "Do you have anything to say for yourself, Faunus?"

She sneered, looking down at her lap. Her hands were shaking behind the chair and she couldn't get them to stop.

...

When the world came back to her, it wasn't the world she wanted to be living in anymore.

Because Blake wasn't there.

It was a small room with sickeningly white walls and maybe a potted plant or two, but otherwise bare, almost like a hospital. She was seated in a cushioned chair and whimpered to discover how sore her body felt after everything. There was a door not too far from herself, but it was flanked by two men, the same ones who had attacked Blake and herself.

There was a desk across the room, and judging by the professional looks of the place, she could discern she was in a police station. Several men in those familiar white suits lined the perimeter of the room as well, uniform like statues - definitely her father's men. When one noticed she was awake, he started making his way over to her.

Weiss instantly recoiled, pressing herself back into the chair as much as possible, hugging her arms over herself in a defensive position. Her eyes glared absolute fury up at him despite the trails of dried tears that remained on her cheeks.

"Why am I here?" she demanded. "Where am I? What have you done with Bla-… with the Faunus girl? Where is she?"

The man was stern and serious with his response, pausing just a few feet shy of her.

"Your father will be arriving here shortly to collect you and bring you back to Vale. Until then, you are to wait here. As for the whereabouts of that criminal, it's none of your concern."

Weiss wanted to stand up and scream at him that it was her only concern, but she forced herself to swallow the words. She didn't want to have to give away any more about hers and Blake's relationship than she already might have.

Weiss looked away from the man, indicating she was finished speaking to him, and he stepped back a pace. Another sweep of her gaze around the room showed no windows, so she could assume she was at the center of the building.

The news that her father would be coming here to take her back to Vale had her stomach churning, and she hunched forward. With such a heavily-guarded room and no idea of where she or Blake was in all of it, Weiss didn't have many options. She could only sit there helplessly and bite her trembling lip as she waited for her inevitable fate to be sealed.

...

"Well?" The man's gruff voice shook the room, impatient and irritated. He could glower at her all he liked, but Blake didn't plan to breathe a word about anything. Not about Weiss. Not about where they'd been. Not about how far they'd come...

Thinking about it now was like swallowing sludge.

They'd gotten so far. They'd been so close. Against all odds, they'd actually almost made it-

Perhaps they'd been foolish to ever think that they could. But she believed there was something to be said for all their efforts, how long they'd eluded capture. Blake could tell her own future was looking bleak, perhaps even worse than what it had been back in her radical days in White Fang.

Even so, no matter how awful things became for her from now on, she'd always have the memories of the time she'd spent with Weiss.

But it was already far past the point where mere memories would ever be enough.

It was too painful to consider what kind of life Weiss would be living once her father came for her. For all Blake knew, perhaps he already had. He'd marry her off to the highest bidder and tap his boot until he had an heir. And Weiss...

Blake didn't think that the memories she'd shared with her would be enough to keep the spark in Weiss' eyes alight if she were subjected to live that kind of life.

Her reverie was cut off by yet another loud sound, a banging fist this time. Blake stole a glance up at the man before her, red in the face now that he'd been denied an answer.

"Goddamn Faunus," he snarled. "Not gonna talk? Fine. It's no skin off my nose. They'll flay you for this either way."

She could care less. Now that she'd lost Weiss, nothing mattered anymore. After so many years of eluding fate's cruel hands, it had finally caught up with her. It'd sunk in its fangs and it wasn't letting go.

...

Weiss didn't know how long she waited for, sitting there in that thinly-cushioned chair that was evidently supposed to make her feel comfortable. The room was choked with silence, the men's eyes were glued to her. Though she wasn't bound they'd made absolutely sure there was no way she could escape.

Not this time.

She tried not to let herself break. She tried not to allow herself to falter. She tried not to let them see her emotions.

But there was nothing else she could do but think of Blake. The fear of losing her had been equaled only by the completeness she'd felt whilst being beside her. It was as though she were watching a tape recording now of everything that had transpired over their last few weeks together, and the memories just kept coming.

Secret rendezvous on the roof, slipping out at night for apple turnovers and tea, running away from the altar, jumping out of that window and down, down, into her arms...

Hiding out in decrepit, leaky sheds, traveling aimlessly, living humbly...

Seeking family, finding nothing but sorrow and heartache in its place...

Sleeping beside her, feeling her breathe, dancing with her until she felt her heart might burst from the joy of it all...

Laughing freely, crying without remorse, feeling as though she were the most precious thing in the world to her, the way she'd hold her, kiss her, defend her...

The slamming of a distant door shattered every memory as quickly as they had revisited her. Muffled voices sounded on the other side of the door until some unseen signal was given. The guards clicked the lock up and open, pulled the door inward.

He entered, dressed as importantly as ever, with all the power and presence he'd ever had and then some. His posture was stiff, his eyes were cold, and his voice was hateful.

"Finally, I've caught you."

Addressing her as though she were a fugitive rather than his own daughter.

Weiss couldn't conceal the fear any longer. Every nightmare she'd suffered thus far – all the ones Blake had so carefully coaxed her away from – were coming true all at once, in this moment.

And there was no one here to save her this time.

...

She must've been acting too rebellious for the guard to handle by not speaking, because he only grew angrier, started stomping and slamming things onto the table. Blake allowed herself to be smug because she attributed his rage to the injuries she'd bestowed upon him earlier. He just couldn't stand the thought that a Faunus had hit him and he was no longer allowed to hit back.

That would be someone else's job.

Blake hung her head, defeated at long last. There was nothing more she could do, not to help herself or Weiss. She'd run her course, and now it was time to face the reality of it all.

How foolish she'd been to think she could get away with it, eloping with the daughter of the wealthiest man in Vale who had eyes and ears everywhere.

Even so, the moments she'd shared with Weiss had been theirs alone. Blake wouldn't relinquish them for the world.

Part of her was still stupid enough to want it back, all of it. She wanted the thrill of freedom, the wind in her hair, gentle fingers running over her ears...

After all her years in the Fang, had she been molded into nothing more than a helpless girl who was simply going to give in because she was being told to? Surely she'd learned something more valuable than that for all the hardships of her past. In exchange for her innocent outlook on the world, the Fang had presented her with something else in return. A refusal to conform, not until her dying breath.

And by some miracle, she was still breathing.

As the man before her continued to grumble, Blake carefully scanned the room. They might've been smart enough to put a guard in the room, but they hadn't been smart enough to position him behind her.

She could feel the constricting ropes around her wrists, bent behind the wood of the chair. A curl of her fingers brought a stinging pain, but it allowed her nails to graze the rope. She pulled one strand with her thumb and index finger until it was taut, pressed in with her free thumb and started to saw at it, slowly but surely.

...

Weiss had always been scared of her father. Even in her first memories of him, he'd scared her into submission in various ways. They ranged anywhere from furious fits of rage to deafening silence. And right now, she didn't know which she was dreading more.

He approached her with purpose and without hesitance, encompassing her in his looming shadow, blocking out the last of her light-

"You," he uttered, and it shook her to her core. "Think it's funny, do you? Humiliating me? Making me a fool to all of Vale who got to watch you run out on your own wedding? Well, I hope you've had your fun. Because it's over. It's all over."

His words weren't just a threat anymore. They were a promise.

He stood over her, letting his words sink in, forcing her to accept them as reality, as her surefire fate.

Every instinct told her to run, but there was no longer any refuge for her. His presence froze her, immobilized her, sunk terror into every fiber of her being until it rooted her in place where she stood.

"Well?" His voice was nothing short of a snarl, causing her to flinch. "What have you got to say for yourself?"

Words failed her. Even if they hadn't, there was nothing she could say that would ever appease him - not now, not anymore.

Still, she tried, just for the sake of perhaps quelling even the smallest bit of his anger.

"I-I-"

But her response only had the opposite effect of what was intended. His rage was fueled by the very sound of her voice, by the very fact that she'd dared to make an effort at explaining her heinous actions. In one split second, his hand was colliding with her face, smashing into her jaw, causing a red pain to bloom over the pale, delicate skin.

She stumbled and hit the wall, only to be hoisted back to her feet by his hand. He must have been waiting so long to do that. Payback for the time she'd bit him at her window in order to get free of his grasp.

That very same grasp was now on her arm, yanking her forward, making her follow.

"We're leaving," he announced, less to her and more so to the men surrounding them. "Make preparations for the travel back. Call the boy's family and let them know we'll be sending her off to them at sunrise. Get the papers finished and send those as well. After daybreak tomorrow, she'll legally be their problem. So long as I've got my compensation, they may do as they wish with her."

Weiss didn't want to cry. Not in front of him. Not again...

But hearing his words only made the cruel horrifying reality sink in deeper, until it cut into her heart, tarnished her soul.

At the very least, she made sure the tears fell silently and went unnoticed.

...

Blake worked on the ropes as diligently as her state of mind would allow. She was all but delirious from hunger, fatigue, anguish, but she didn't let that stop her. Not when there was still a chance. Small, yes, but it was still there, for herself and maybe even for Weiss...

"All right." The man before her had looked up from the desk with all the papers. He glared through her as he spoke, as though making a declaration to someone unseen, refusing to acknowledge her as a fellow person. "We're going. You're being transferred to the penitentiary section for the night. Tomorrow starts prosecution." Blake paused in her movements as he lumbered over her and leaned down, sneering. "I sure as hell wouldn't wanna be you right now, kid."

With that, he grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her up. A gasp flew from her sore lungs, and he seemed to take pleasure in hearing it. He even made sure to jab his elbow into her ribs for good measure as he herded her toward the door.

Walking felt like a sentence of torture in and of itself. Every step stung, every breath ached. Somewhere along the lines, her ribbon had come loose, exposing her ears somewhat, tantalizing targets for her guard to swat at and tug on.

/It doesn't matter anymore.../

Nothing did.

Despite the abuse Blake didn't say a word, didn't make a sound beyond the occasional pained gasp. She'd suffered through much worse before, after all. She just focused on her hands, on digging her nails into the rope and cutting, a little harder, a little faster.

Subconsciously, she took note of the hallways they were taking in an effort to make a mental map of the building. Escape was a long shot, probably an inane concept given her current condition, but if she could muster up another clone with her semblance, it might be possible.

She was surviving off of nothing more than fragile hopes right now.

But she'd done that before, and gotten this far.

...

Weiss had no choice but to follow her father. She'd never had any other choice. She'd always been under his command, forced to obey his orders, heed his every whim.

He was taking her back there, to that mansion where she'd been shut away all her life, finding solace only in the imaginary worlds of her books and the liberating breeze of the ocean.

But she soon wouldn't even have those liberties anymore. She'd be sent away, to the house of the husband she'd left at the altar, legally bound to him, required to do as he dictated. Her life would go back to what it had been before all of this, conforming to others, obeying their words, doing whatever it took to please them without regard for herself.

Now that she'd known the limitless joys of freedom - the insurmountable happiness that stemmed from being truly and honestly loved - it would only make going back even worse. Nothing could ever compare to the time she'd spent with Blake, the only time in her life when she'd been allowed to breathe without looking back over her shoulder.

All of that – all of the journeying, the planning, the confident words and tender touches – it was all going away. It was all over.

Weiss didn't even know where Blake was anymore. They'd told her they would be prosecuting her, but for all she knew they could've killed her.

She dreaded life beyond this moment, living as the prize for a spoiled rich boy, never truly knowing what had become of Blake, never again seeing that familiar twitch of ears, those golden eyes, dancing with quiet laughter and secrets for them alone to keep. Never again would she be able to see that gaze, warm like the sunset of the night she'd whisked her away into a world of exciting uncertainty...

-And no sooner had she thought of those eyes than she found herself looking directly at them.

She almost couldn't believe it, almost thought it was just a trick of the senses.

On their way to being transferred to different locations, they'd crossed paths passing in opposite directions down adjacent hallways.

Time stopped, as did her heart.

It was a miracle.

And her last chance.

No, not just hers.

Theirs.

So Weiss didn't waste a second.

In spite of the disbelief, and with a desperate cry tearing from her throat, she dug the heels of her shoes into the tiled floor and used all of her weight to fight, to defy her fate a second time. With a sudden surge of strength, she pulled back and wretched herself free of her father's greedy hands.

She was already running. Even before anyone could turn around or comprehend what had happened, she was running.

That was something Blake had taught her.

...

It felt as though her body and mind had become separate in that instant. Time slowed, warped, shifted, and stopped. Her aching lungs forgot how to function, and her broken heart forgot how to hurt.

The sight of Weiss was a miracle, a blessing she never thought she'd ever get to experience once, but where having it a second time was near impossible.

She'd never believed in coincidences. It was all fate.

And they'd been through enough now for Blake to know that Weiss was meant to play a part in hers.

Weiss was running. Straight for her. She broke away from the man who had the gall to call himself her father, and for Blake it was like reliving the scene from months earlier. Weiss was crying again, running again, heading for the only person who cared to catch her...

Blake had a part to play, too.

With a sudden, almost frightening surge of adrenaline mustered up from the core of her being, Blake yanked her wrists apart. The rope tore from the combined efforts of her nails and her wrists, breaking apart into useless tethers. The guard tried to grab for her, but she slammed herself back against him, bowling him over into a state of unbalance and anger.

She barely had time to reach out her hand before Weiss had already taken it.

And they ran.

...

She couldn't spare the breath to call out Blake's name just yet. But the feelings that surged through her in that moment were enough to be palpable. Her heart was thrumming hard up against her ribs, harder than the footsteps that carried her away from the enraged threats and curses.

This was all so familiar. They'd done it before.

Weiss hadn't the slightest clue of where to go, how to escape, or if they even could. But when her hand was in Blake's like this, when she was racing at her side with the image of that familiar profile as her guide, she remembered the importance of acting over thinking. This was one of those times where they simply needed to run, and thinking could come after.

Weiss' throat was dry, and something thick and awful was lodged there. But she refused to let the fear consume her, not when against all odds she had back what she'd lost.

She scanned the hallways they were pelting down, tried to recall a layout of the building to no avail. All she could do was run faster, try not to slow them down. The raging sounds coming from behind them were bone-chilling, enough to demand she never look back.

It wasn't long before guards started appearing right next to them, or up ahead to block off certain areas. Weiss managed to glimpse one around a corner they were passing, and only her expertly-timed tug on Blake's wrist prevented the Faunus girl from being grabbed.

Their next encounter with the men was only avoided by Blake's forced use of one of her clones. It vanished within seconds of being touched, and she knew Weiss didn't have the energy to produce any more.

They just had to keep running.

They didn't slow down. Even though they were running in a labyrinth crawling with monsters, they refused to stop running until the bitter end.

...

There was no time for words despite the immense relief that flooded through her veins in knowing Weiss was at her side once again, where she should be.

Blake ran only because Weiss was with her. Alone, she would never have found the strength or reason to do something like this, but now she had something to fight for, something worth protecting.

Even with her life.

A brief glance sideways showed her that Weiss' face was unnaturally red, and Blake could discern it wasn't just from crying.

He'd hit her. She knew he had.

And she refused to ever let him touch her again.

She'd be damned if she let them take her away again. The pain of having Weiss ripped from her very arms was incomparable to every other combined anguish she'd ever felt in all her life. Because losing Weiss was like losing part of herself, the part that held her together and kept her blood pumping.

When Weiss pulled her out of a guard's range, Blake could only shoot her a quick glance, knowing Weiss understood the action was appreciated. They swerved around corners, dashed down hallways, skidded at dead ends or blocked-off areas, swiveled to change direction, and took off running all over again.

At one point, they came to a wider space where several hallways opened up before them. That was the only time they stopped, panting heavily, bodies shaking. No signs indicated the direction of any potential exits, and all they had to go off was the sounds of shouting they needed to avoid.

Blake's ears flicked, swiveled, and honed in on every echo, until she determined which part was safest.

"This way."

Nothing more than an uttered whisper, her voice was thin, but decisive. She was going to get Weiss out of here, even if she died trying.

They took off at top speed, driven by nothing more than survival instinct and fear.

...

The shouts were getting louder and started to overpower the roaring blood in their ears.

It was all they could do to hang onto each other and flee.

Her legs were beginning to falter. The terror was taking hold of her, clawing at her heart until she couldn't feel anything else. Only Blake's desperate, defiant grip on her wrist kept her running, kept her breathing.

They ran everywhere they could, advancing halfway down a hallway only to realize the other end was congested with guards. They'd double back, try another way, only to find the same results.

They were everywhere now, and some of them were armed – several tasers and even a few guns.

Weiss knew they wouldn't dare shoot her, which was why she made certain to push herself in between those men and Blake whenever she glimpsed one of them taking aim. Her head was spinning as Blake pulled her another way, so swiftly it was a miracle neither of them tripped.

But Weiss could tell they were at the end of their rope.

The hand that wasn't holding onto her own was pressed to the Faunus girl's side. Blake was gasping heavily, and when Weiss caught a glance of her face her expression was strained and agonized. Her pace was slowing now too, and Weiss was no better off. Tears distorted her vision, and air escaped her lungs more than it filled them.

Blindly, they proceeded down the only hallway left before them.

Weiss thought it was a trick of her eyes at first when she saw the faint red glow on the ceiling, but as they neared, she could make out the small sign, and the four letters printed there:

EXIT

Blake saw it too. There was no doubt about it.

With all their might, they sprinted towards it, knowing there would be a door just around that last corner.

And in that instant, Weiss really believed they could make it.

That hope didn't last.

They took those final steps, rounded the final bend-

Weiss saw him first. Blocking her path to freedom, just as he'd done all her life.

But she was already running too quickly. She couldn't stop in time, couldn't tug Blake back quickly enough before the ends of the taser met with her shoulder.

The ensuing screams came from both of them.

One was a wordless cry, the other a shriek of a name.

Both were devastating and ridden with suffering.

The girls knocked into each other and crashed to the floor.

It was over.

...

As if the sudden severity of the impact wasn't bad enough, there was also a sickening, poignant sting of electricity that shot through her right shoulder. Had Weiss not been there to tug her back, Blake would've taken a full strike from the taser and likely be unconscious by now.

But as things were, there was only a bit of pain tingling along the side of her body, causing her to wince, her ears flicking repeatedly in discomfort. Weiss' arms were around her, trying to drag her back further.

But it was no use. They were surrounded.

The man who called himself Weiss' father hovered over them, his presence every bit as threatening and furious as it had always been. Only now he was armed, and he wasn't about to be made a fool of again.

By some chance, Weiss' hand was still in hers and Blake held tightly to it, squeezing her fingers. It was less out of fear though, and more a silent means of communication.

/Don't worry. I won't let him touch you. Not again.../

She'd do anything to keep her safe.

Anything.

A dozen or so men surrounded them now, but none of them moved. The scene resembled a pack of wolves cornering prey, but refusing to advance until the alpha had taken the first bite. The leader of this pack glowered down at both girls, his eyes cold and emotionless, save from the anger.

It was incredible that Blake could actually draw her legs beneath herself and find the strength to push herself up. Years of being beaten down had resulted in her learning how to get back up, if nothing else. She wasn't going to allow herself to stay crumpled in this man's shadow any longer.

Weiss lent her support, and between the two of them, they found enough balance to stagger and stand once again, though Blake had to lean heavily on her. The sting from the taser was still assaulting her skin, making her head spin, her vision cloudy.

The instant she put her arm around Weiss' back to keep herself up, a look of animalistic rage flashed across their tormentor's face. Evidently, that was something he really didn't like.

"Don't you dare," he uttered dangerously. "Stain my daughter's skin for one second longer. Get your filthy Faunus hands off of her."

"Why should I?" Blake spat, more venomously than ever before. "So you can hit her more?"

"You will be silent!" he bellowed. "No mangey little Faunus girl is going to address me like that! You good-for-nothings exist to cheat and steal. I'd have every last one of you thrown into prison if I could. But I'll settle for you."

He stepped closer, but Blake didn't give an inch. She made sure to cover Weiss, pressing against her to shield her from whatever might come.

His words struck fear in her heart, but they also struck a chord, a chord of memory. Her time in the Fang, evading capture, obtaining equality and freedom. All she'd ever wanted was to be free, to not be under anyone else's control, to not have her decisions predetermined for her.

But this decision was all her own. Even if it would end her up somewhere worse than she'd ever been.

"Then-" Blake trained her defiant eyes on his. "Then take me. Just me."

She could already feel Weiss' grip on her hand tightening, hear the distressed gasp fly from her lips. But Blake went on before Weiss could stop her.

"Just... take me. And let her go."

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A/N: One reason my partner and I took so long to write this story was because we didn't know how exactly to end it. There are only two chapters left and since my partner dropped the roleplay by this point, I made up my own scenario, which will be revealed next chapter. I hope you stay tuned for it.

Preview for Act XV: "NO-!"

Even before Blake had finished speaking, the distraught plea was already halfway out of her mouth.

Although Blake was trying to prevent her from arguing, Weiss didn't care. She tightened her grip on her, curling her fingers into the fabrics of Blake's shirt, drawing her back a step.

"Blake, you can't do that!" she cried. "You can't!"