Edward jolted awake and knocked Fox backward. Metal scraped against metal as the old Huntsman removed a weapon from his belt.

“Hyaaah!” the man shouted, coming closer to Fox. Fox lifted his arm and just deflected Edward’s weapon with a spark and a ringing sound.

“Hey!” Fox shouted. “Stop! I don’t want to hurt you.”

He leaped lightly to his feet and backed away. It was difficult without a good bead on Edward’s mind, but he paid attention to the sound of his footsteps, the way the wind sounded as it moved around an object—in this case, a person, as Edward circled Fox.

“You dragged me out here, but I’m not as weak as you thought, eh?” Edward coughed.

Fox needed more assistance. “Ada, run Cyrano protocol,” he shouted. “Battle mode!”

“Activating battle mode,” Ada said. It had to be his imagination, but the limited artificial intelligence sounded excited.

“Describe,” Fox said.

Ada used the Scroll tucked into his belt to analyze the environment, with the help of the Scroll’s camera and his earbud transceivers. “One opponent, about seventy years old. Weapon: Buckler, a small hand shield with a sharp metal edge. Update: Outer ring is removable. Update: Outer ring has been removed.”

“Engage proximity alert,” Fox said.

“Engaged.”

Fox had to disarm Edward, preferably without injuring him. He dashed forward. Ada’s beeping let him know how close he was to his opponent, and used other audio cues to update him on the position of Edward’s weapon, head, fists, feet, all on a projected x- and y-axis that extended in a five-foot radius of Fox.

Cyrano was a sophisticated program out of Atlas, experimental tech the kingdom granted older academy students access to for field testing. It had made Fox’s life tremendously easier to navigate, though he often got more useful information from his teammates’ running commentary when the situation allowed for it. It was designed to adapt to Fox just as he adapted to it, and they were a pretty effective team—as long as he remembered to charge his Scroll.

Fox dashed forward. When he heard a steady tone in both ears, he knew Edward was directly in front of him, and a low thrumming pulse told him where his hand holding his disc-blade was. Fox jabbed his right elbow toward it and hooked Sharp Retribution on the weapon. He pulled and twisted, yanking the disc away, but Edward held on with surprising strength.

Fox heard a gunshot and the emergency tone in his left ear made him jerk his head back. A bullet whizzed by his forehead.

“Update,” Ada said. “Weapon has projectile capabilities.”

“You mean it’s also a gun.”

Imagine that.

“Correct. Proceed with caution.”

“What do you think I’ve been doing?”

Fox swept his leg forward and knocked Edward to the ground. The old man grunted. A fist connected with Fox’s chest, but he pulled back just in time so it only made a glancing blow. He reached with his left hand, grabbed Edward’s right, and pulled downward. Edward lurched forward as Fox lifted his left knee. Edward’s skull cracked against it, and Edward went down.

But he didn’t stay down. His weapon came up, and Fox parried it. Once, twice. Fox then took a chance and fired a shot of his own. He heard a bullet strike metal and Edward cried out in surprise. The weapon fell a few feet away and landed in the sand.

Edward dove for it. “Where is it? Where is it?”

“Sorry,” Fox said. “Are you all right?”

Edward lifted his head and started to cough. “I know you, don’t I?” The wind whipped his feeble voice away.

Fox breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes.” Finally.

“Yatsuhashi, right?”

Fox’s shoulders fell. “Close. I’m Fox Alistair. Can you stand?”

“Yes.” Edward got to his feet, but only with Fox’s help.

“I’m sorry about that. I hope I didn’t hurt you.”

“You’re a formidable opponent.”

“Warning: Sandstorm imminent,” Ada said.

“Thank you, Ada. Disengage battle mode,” Fox said.

“Who’s Ada?” Edward said.

“She’s the voice in my head,” Fox said. “We need to find shelter.”

- RWBY: After the Fall, Chapter 10