Right, exactly a month later. This chapter was particularly tough because I actually lost most of it when my computer died halfway through a writing session. It was also a pain because it's a mix of back story on Blake and White Fang and a progression of the last chapter. It actually went through several re-writes to get it to where I was happy with it. Anyway, enough of me rambling. Enjoy.


Nightmares have been a part of Blake's life for as far back as she could remember. She suffered from them as a little girl while travelling with the White Fang, the horrific realities of life as a Faunas not content stay within her waking hours. When awoken by these nightmares, she would seek out Adam and he would sacrifice his bed, sitting on the floor and reading to her softly until she fell into a slightly calmer sleep.

As she grew older and more adventurous, she would instead forgo sleep entirely and sneak away to explore her ever-changing surroundings, taking advantage of the dark to learn all she could about where she found herself and often only returning when the sun began to rise. This exploration is where she learned to disguise her Faunas heritage with black bow made of the finest silk, given to her by Adam for her birthday. It would be her last celebration for several years.

The White Fang who, for the time being, still believed in achieving their goal of equality through peaceful means, often found themselves the targets of other terrorist groups. Gangs of villagers that opposed Faunas rights would search for their camps. Sometimes they would simply run them out of the area but, other times, their actions were much worse.

It was this constant threat to not only the lives of those actively protesting for their cause, but those of the White Fang who were non-partisan, the mothers and the children that were being targeted, that pushed the organisation ever-closer to militarisation. The final act that pushed them over the edge was when, late one summer, after being chased from a village by a mob, their camp was set ablaze in the middle of the night.

While the fire was caught early, the dryness of the ground and the surrounding forest meant that, before it could be extinguished, it claimed their camp, leaving little left but smouldering rags where their tents once stood. Many Faunas either perished or were permanently scarred. Many of the elderly Faunas that travelled with the group did not survive, losing their lives to either of the blaze itself or as a result of smoke inhalation.

Neither Blake nor Adam escaped the fire unharmed. Blake suffered various minor cuts and burns along her arms and legs from moving debris to allow those that were able to avoid the blaze to escape. These went largely unnoticed and simply joined the many others she had gained as a result of opposition to their various protests.

Adam however, suffered more permanent injuries. He was blinded in his right eye while rescuing infants trapped inside the tent that passed for the camps nursery, which had been created with the hope of raising a new generation of Faunas that would never know discrimination. The wound would contribute to the adoption of his signature Grimm mask later on, after the groups call to arms. Until he adopted the mask, his wounds were used not only as an example of the dangers most Faunas faced everyday simply for being different, but also as an example of the strength and resilience of the White Fangs members and their dedication to its cause.

The destruction of their camp and loss of his eye marked the beginning of Adam's transformation, in Blake's opinion, from the soldier of peace he had once been into the monster she would abandon on a Schnee Dust Company train years later. His previously steadfast refusal to harm others to further their cause faded away and he not only became one of the first to embrace violence when it broke out, but also one of the first to suggest it as a solution to a problem where it may do more harm then good.

The fire was seen as an act of war against the White Fang by its commanders and, after several tense days of debate, it was decided that retribution must be dealt.

While Blake was not involved directly with the attack on the village so did not see what transpired, its lasting effects on the group were hard to miss. Those that were involved returned that morning in silence with clouded eyes and sombre faces, some even sporting fresh wounds. They refused to speak of what had taken place and she, in hindsight, realised that for many it marked the beginning of the White Fang's journey from a group of Faunas campaigning for equality to a trained and equipped militia.


It was an unseasonably cold day in Vale. The wind whipped at people's collars and the sky, heavy with grey clouds, threatened rain. With the hood of her shawl pulled down to cover as much of her face as possible, Blake walked silently though the throng of people in Vale's main street. She desperately wanted to leave the city and she knew that the longer she stayed, the more chance of her former teammates catching up to her. But there was still one thing she had to do first.

Turning left into a side street, she walked up to a door. She knocked and a few seconds later the door opened a few inches and Sun's face appeared. "Oh Blake, hey." He sounded surprised. "Ruby just called and said you'd gone missing. She asked if I'd seen you." He opened the door wider, allowing her to see past him to the inside of the room. Neptune was asleep on the couch. "I didn't know you knew where I lived. You wanna come in?"

She shook her head politely. "No Sun, I'm actually here because I have something to tell you." She said. Her voice quiet, her tone heavy.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" He stepped outside and closed the door behind him. There was silence for a few seconds while she gathered her thoughts and, with a deep breath, she began.

"I'm leaving Sun. I'm leaving Beacon, leaving Vale, leaving Remnant even. I'm going back to where I grew up and where I became involved with the White Fang. I need to know why they're doing what they're doing. I need to know what they're doing with all the Dust they've stolen, what their plan is. Not just for Vale but for the whole of Remnant. And I can only do that by going back."

"Ok then." He replied, turning to open the door. "You wait here, I'll pack my bag and call Ruby, get them to meet us at the docks." Reaching out, Blake grabbed his hand before he could open the door.

"No Sun." She took a step closer, the two of them now inches apart. "The reason I've come here isn't to ask you to come with me. It's to say goodbye. Goodbye, maybe forever. And before I left I wanted to say…" She paused, fighting back tears. "I wanted to say that I'm going to miss you and…" She paused again, her words escaping her. After a few seconds of silence she gave up on speech and, standing on her tiptoes, placed a single, gentle kiss on his cheek.

Kept in place from shock, Sun watched as Blake turned and began to walk away. As she approached the mouth of the side street, she turned and cast one last look back. Their eyes met and they held each other's gaze for a moment before, pulling her hood back over head, she stepped out into the street and he lost her to the crowd.


"She did what?!" Yang cried into her scroll, causing both Weiss and Ruby in the room and Sun on the other end to wince.

"She kissed me. She came to my place, told me she was leaving and then kissed me." He held his scroll away from his ear as more shouting followed. After the noise had died down, he held it back to his ear. "So I assume we're going after her right? I mean we can't just let her leave."

Ruby's voice replaced Yang's on the other end. "I don't know Sun, she did say she didn't want us to follow her. I want to find her too but what if she gets upset that we followed her? It might do more harm than good."

"Well I don't care if you guys come with me or not. I'm going out to look for her." With that he ended the call and stepped back inside, Neptune had woken and was sat flicking absent-mindedly through different TV channels.

"She's gone hasn't she?" He asked casually, not even looking up.

"Yeah she has." Sun replied, grabbing his backpack and throwing an empty one at Neptune. "And we're going to find her before she gets hurt."

Sighing, Neptune stood up and began to pack his bag. "I get that you like her and all..." He paused. "But isn't chasing her after she's left town kinda stalker-ish?" He questioned, earning him a sharp look from Sun.

"Theirs's something not right, like she's scared of something." He turned his attention back to his scroll, he was getting another call. Looking at the caller ID he let out a sigh, it was Weiss. Turning to Neptune, he threw him the scroll. "You take it, she seems to like you."

"You think so?" He asked, staring at the screen for a split second before answering. "Hey."


"Ok, thanks Neptune." Weiss' singsong voice seemed impossibly loud in the quiet dorm room. Ruby and Yang were sat on Yang's bed, lost in thought. Weiss had never seen the pair so quiet, especially when in a room together. Clearing her throat to grab their attention, she began to relay Neptune's information.

"Blake was with Sun and Neptune 15 minutes ago and she left heading south, towards the docks. Neptune said he and Sun are going after her and we can join them if we want but if not, they said not to interfere." She looked to the sisters and the three of them picked up their backpacks. "I think we should take them up on their kind offer."

"She's headed to the docks, so does that mean she really is trying to leave Vale?" Ruby asked, crestfallen.

Yang pulled her sibling in close. "I don't know Rubes but if we find her she'll have a lot of explaining to do." Rolling her shoulders, Yang stood and headed for the door. "But if we wanna catch her before she reaches the docks we better go." Looking to each other and nodding in agreement, Ruby and Weiss followed suit.

"I'm gonna miss this place." Neptune thought aloud as he and Sun stepped outside and into the small side street in which their apartment was located.

"What makes you say that? You think we're not gonna be coming back?" Sun asked, turning to face his blue-haired friend.

"Well if she hasn't left yet, we're looking for one girl among tens of thousands of people and if she has left," He looked Sun in the eyes. "Depending where she went, it could be literally one out of millions."

"Gee, thanks for the confidence boost man." Sun turned and locked the door to their apartment. "But, as much as I don't want to admit it, I can't help but feel like you're kinda right." Stepping away from the door, he took one last look at the building that had been their home for the brief time the pair had been in Vale. "I guess we'd better get going." The pair walked no more than ten steps when a voice called out that made a shiver run down Sun's spine.

"Hey, you better not be going without us!"