Hello Everyone,

I always wanted to know more about Adam ever since I saw him in the trailer. As the series went on however, we never heard much about him.

Well, I got tired of waiting so I just had to write a story for myself. This is set after where the series ended.

Enjoy,

ACT I

'It's time…'

'Okay…'

She followed him, perhaps for the last time.

The wind was blowing that day. She knew because it carried with it the scattered, forest petals painted scarlet – but that wasn't the main reason. The girl remembered the man's back, standing tall and unfaltering against the breeze. She had looked at the same back so many times before. His coat whipped this way and that but he never budged. It was a black visage, tattooed with tangled roses which glinted and gleamed with a thorny, venomous anger that poked straight through you. He never looked back at her, he always looked forward. Sword in hand, without any other words, he leapt forward through the trees, disappearing from sight.

The girl clenched her fist, her legs moving to follow him. Her heart however, wanted to run. She wanted to run away from all this, from what they had become, what she had become, what he had become.

She was afraid.

Whenever the thought entered her head she saw only his face, the porcelain mask gazing back emotionlessly at her – into her soul.

It never let go, holding her, wrapping its deathly fingers around her neck until she could struggle no more before dragging her into the dark…

Xxx

Blake woke with a start, panting heavily in desperate, ragged gasps. The moonlight poured in through the window, its serene luminescence touching the floorboards and scattering around the room in a thin haze so that she could only just make out the details of wardrobes and bedframes.

There was a creak of wood from beneath her as Yang shuffled in her bed. She could imagine the blonde clutching her pillow on the bottom bunk, a dorkish smile plastered on her face as she mumbled to herself in her sleep.

The other two were silent, their breaths rhythmic and relaxed. Blake spent a second looking at their peaceful faces. No doubt they enjoyed brighter dreams. The black-haired girl lay back on her bed, resting her head against the pillow. She tried to fall back asleep, but Adam's face was still etched into her mind. It was the same face he wore the last time she saw him, when she drew away on one carriage whilst he faded into the distance on the other. He didn't say anything, he only watched, the slits of his mask boring into her before, mercifully, she lost him in the red wash.

Blake pushed herself up from the mattress, leaping over the edge and landing on the floorboards with only a light tap. She grabbed her school blazer from the hanger beside her bunk, wrapping it around her shoulders before she inched the door open and slipped quietly outside.

Beacon was a large school with several wings circling a tall central tower which scraped against the sky. The new moon hung low tonight, nesting lazily upon the spire tip. It threw its glow upon the academy, painting it in an ethereal silver-blue. It didn't make much of a difference for Blake though. She was a faunus, her golden eyes were well suited for the dark, piercing through the murkiness even in the deadest of nights. However she preferred the glow. The moonlight settled on the academy building with such serenity that she wished it would never leave its perch, wrapped in its blanket of stars.

Footsteps sounded behind her, light and refined. She didn't even have to look to know that Weiss approached her, her hair hanging loose in the night, catching the moon's beams. She wore her nightgown as well with her blazer wrapped around her.

'You know you probably shouldn't go off sneaking like this during night, people tend to think you're up to no good.'

'Let them think that. It doesn't bother me if it isn't true.' She saw Weiss reach her side, stopping and taking in the moonlit spire before them.

'Can't get to sleep?'

'I was just feeling a bit restless,' Blake replied.

'Has that monkey taken a hold of you?' said Weiss. She had caught Blake off guard, causing the normally cool girl to stammer out a clumsy response.

'N-no.' Sun's brash playfulness and crude presence had irked her since they had returned but right now, she had a completely different man in her head, for completely different reasons.

'Well then,' said Weiss. She had gone back to her familiar snobbish tone, 'if you're feeling guilty about all those things your friends in the White Fang have done you should know that they deserve what's coming to them. Your race or not, they are still just common criminals who rob and pillage and kill.'

Blake's eyes flared up for a brief moment, 'you don't understand!'

Her voice rang out, skipping against the smooth stone path with its crack. She saw Weiss step back in surprise, eyes widened at the Faunus girl's sudden outburst. She held herself back, swallowing the words that she so desperately wanted to say.

'Hey, are you okay Blake?' asked Weiss, breaking the silence.

The black-haired girl bit her lip before turning away.

'I'm fine,' she said before storming off.

Her feet slapped jarringly against the stone path. She didn't bother concealing her footsteps, she was too busy being angry. Sometimes Weiss said the most insensitive things without thinking. Blake let her breath out slowly, relaxing the frustration that she had pent up. She could understand, if only slightly, the silver-haired girl. Born into the Schnee family, she had been raised believing her name was supreme. But that arrogance didn't come from nothing; she saw how hard Weiss worked, how she never allowed herself to be beaten by anyone, how she constantly toiled, just to prove her beliefs. Like Blake, their births had given them hard lives.

But regardless, Blake refused to let anyone slander the White Fang. They hadn't been there, Weiss hadn't been there. She knew what it was like to grow up with nothing, to beg and steal enough mould-ridden bread just to survive each passing day. Every night, she had looked up at the sky and saw the same moon that stared back at her now, wishing, praying that things would change.

And they had.

She was a huntress now, studying at Beacon to hunt the Grimm and protect the weak. No longer would she fight in the shadows. No longer would she lurk in darkness. She would help her race properly.

But she could never forget her past.

It gripped her, stalked her like her own shadow. She would forget for a time, but the memories would always resurface, threatening to consume her, leave a blackened husk behind.

But what scared her most was that porcelain mask.

No matter how many times she tried to shake it out, it was always there, staring, glaring, from the shadows.

Xxx

Roman Torchwick tapped his fingers on the desk. They were late. He didn't like it when people were late. He pulled his pocket watch from his coat by the chain, the lid popping open with a press of his finger upon the latch.

Ten past six.

The lid snapped shut, the crack of sound bouncing across the room. He sat at a table in the centre. Two other chairs faced him, their occupants weren't present.

'I said six didn't I?' he asked. The question was directed behind him, to the two guards he had brought along. 'I believe so sir,' they replied, saying nothing more.

Roman let his brow furrow. He flicked his watch open again as he crossed his legs, resting them on the table whilst he folded his arms and muttered under his breath.

BANG!

One of the doors to the room burst open violently, announcing an arrival. The seated man watched as two black-haired girls walked in, the tails and frills of their dresses dancing behind their backs as they entered the room. They were the Malachite twins. A plastic smile twisted their faces, a sinister expression that put Roman on edge. Another figure followed them in, shrouded in black. She glided past the door frame into view before approaching the table. Two glowing eyes stared at him from behind the veil of darkness, two hot coals that hissed and spat wherever they looked. Her name was Cinder, an adept of fire. Even now, Roman could feel the residual heat radiate from her body and ooze outwards, lapping the walls.

He turned to face the woman. 'You know, even if you're late you should still enter a room polite-'

Another bang sounded, the third and final door bursting from its hinges and slamming against the stone walls to their sides. Both Roman and the woman turned to face the new arrival. Their eyes narrowed as they saw the figure walk in. They could feel him as soon as he entered the room, a sweeping sensation that left them churning in the stomach. This was a man they both had to be careful of, the masked Taurus of the White Fang, Adam.

The man exuded presence. Whilst the woman gave off a more subtle and mysterious vibe, Adam gave off a pressure that forced to your knees, your head pressed down in dizzying reverence. Roman had dealt with him a couple times before but he could never get used to the feeling. He stole a glance at Cinder but her face gave nothing away.

The man walked into the room followed by two faunus who slinked through the door behind him. Their sharp eyes scanned the room as their leader reached the table, pulling out a chair with the scrape of stone and wood.

'I believe we're all here,' he said, 'let's get started.'

The man sat himself silently on the wooden seat, bending his back forward and resting his elbows on the table so that his hands grabbed one another before his masked face.

They watched Cinder sit herself down on the last seat, a hiss and a sizzle sounding as she touched the wood, crossing her legs beneath the table.

'I agree,' she said.

Roman tucked his watch back into his pocket, snapping it shut with a sharp crack. 'Then let us begin,' he said.

He produced a roll of canvas from his side, pressing it out across the table. It was a map of Vytal, speckled with landmarks and taped with labels.

'I believe you all know the drive behind tonight's meeting?'

He paused as he examined the other two's faces. They kept stoic, their silence affirming their agreement.

'Very well, then let us move to the crux of the matter.'

He reached for a marker, snatching it from table top beside him. With a pop he flicked off the cap before leaning over to press it upon the page. In one motion he had marked a circle upon the surface, moving back for the other two to see.

In the middle was a single dot but tailing it was a word they all knew well.

'Well, ladies and gentlemen,' said Roman, 'Let us prepare to take Beacon.'

Please let me know your thoughts! If you liked/didn't like it, leave a review or PM me.

Anyways, thanks for reading!

Grey