Fore-word: So, apparently, it wasn't clear what happened to Adam in the last chapter. Allow me to clarify: When I said that Rain froze him solid, I meant that he was literally frozen solid. He wasn't encased in ice; He is dead. He is essentially an ice sculpture of a raging psychopath. I hope that clears things up.

Chapter 12: I have no name for this chapter. Make one up yourselves. I'm going to bed

Rain felt drained. His entire life he had never felt anything stronger than disdain. It had been one of his greatest assets on missions. But at the warehouse he had felt a cocktail of emotions so strong that he had almost crossed his final line. All because he had allowed himself to care about others. He desperately needed to sort this out. Otherwise, he might be convinced to stray from his path and sacrifice the many to save the few.

As he walked through the hideout's front door, he was bear-hugged by a precocious red-head.

"Rain! You're back! Did you miss me?"

"No." He picked Flare up by the collar and dropped her to the floor. After a quick look around, he noticed that Blake was missing from the room. Yang was eating pizza on a couch and Banner was refilling his syringes.

He looked down at Flare, "Where's Blake? If you let her run off I will hurt you."

"Is that a promise?" Flare said seductively until she saw the look on his face. He was done with everybody's shit today. "She's sitting on the roof, pining after her dead boyfriend. The blonde went up to check on her earlier. When she came down she punched a whole in the wall."

"Thanks." Rain swept by her to the fridge, grabbed a six-pack, and headed up the stairs.

Blake didn't turn around when she heard the door open. "Go away, Yang. I don't need sympathy."

"No." said a voice she hadn't expected, "But you do need a drinking buddy." Rain sat down next to her and popped open two bottles with his bare hands, passing one to her. She couldn't help but notice how soft and smooth his hands were as she accepted the bottle.

"You aren't wearing your gauntlets. I've never seen you take them off." She said as she took a deep swig.

"Nah. Tonight is safe. We broke the White Fang and Cinder should be sufficiently scared enough to not try anything. After all, I blasted her through a hologram."

"How did you do that, by the way?"

I actually programmed the hologram generator to release that bolt of electricity when I pressed a hidden switch. It was very theatrical, though."

"I'll say. And your entrance after that? Pure terror. I actually peed a little."

"Yeah. I would take that as a compliment if I had meant to do that."

"Hmm? You didn't mean to look like a storm god who had come to wreak terrible destruction on the unsuspecting village folk? Well kudos for not even trying."

"The truth of that moment was that I had a actually gone into a blind rage. When I was sucking Adam's aura, I fully intended to take his soul."

"It's a good thing Yang stopped you."

"Yeah. Yang stopped me alright."

Blake sensed something odd in his tone, but the alcohol was already effecting her and she ignored it. She went to take another drink and realized she was out. "Another, garshon."

"Sure, Blake. Another beer for the drunk house cat." He popped another one and held it out to her. Once again she was amazed by how someone so rough could have such smooth hands.

"Thank you for drinking with me." she said a little sheepishly, "I didn't know how much I needed this."

"No problem. I've helped my uncle through a similar situation before. Albeit, he attempted to kill me afterwards. But what's the point of family if you can't forgive them?"

"Your uncle tried to kill you? How the hell did that come about?"

"Well, it all started during the mission. We were sent to clear out a pack of alphas-"

"And so I brought up the moment when he shrieked in the cave. Next thing I know, I'm flat on my back with a scythe pressed to my neck. Needless to say, he decided not to kill me that night."

Blake let out a long laugh, "And you were twelve when this happened?"

"Twelve-and-a-half."

"And your uncle let a twelve-year-old drink with him? Isn't that a bit irresponsible?"

"That's my uncle for you: Incredibly bad-ass and incredibly irresponsible. I should get him a t-shirt that says that."

"Well I never really had any extended family to begin with. So I wouldn't know how to deal with that."

"You must have been pretty lonely growing up."

"Yeah, it was. There were other kids, sure. But nobody I felt close to."

Rain seemed to accept and process this new information. After a few minutes he opened his mouth to speak. "Blake, can I be honest with you about something?"

"I probably won't remember it tomorrow, so fire away."

"In the warehouse, when I was stealing Adam's soul, it wasn't Yang that stopped me."

"But what else could it have been? She shouted loud enough to raise the dead."

"The shouting broke me out of my rage for a second. True. But it wasn't what kept me from taking his soul."

"Then what was it?"

"It was you, Blake. I saw the look on your face while I was draining him. You should have been thrilled that he was getting his just desserts. He killed your boyfriend, cut off your partners arm, and partially destroyed the only real home you've ever had.

"But you weren't thrilled. You were mortified. Not because of what he had done, but because of the pain he was being forced through. You understood the rightfully-deserved hell he was going through and wanted to help him. Seeing that you could see the man inside the beast broke me out of my rage permanently."

"Why would that effect you so much?"

"Because no one has ever been able to see the man inside the beast that is me. And Adam was even more unforgivable than I am. So, if someone like you could see that for him, I figured maybe there was hope for me. One day."

Blake couldn't properly process all he had just said; she had drunk most of the six-pack on her own. But she could understand the feelings behind the words. And in her alcohol addled state, she did something she would normally have never done. She leaned in and kissed him.

As far as kisses go, it wasn't overly impressive. His lips were rough, she was pretty drunk, and there was the ever so slight fact that he wasn't kissing her back.

She felt his hands come up and pull her face away from his. He looked her deep in the eyes.

"Blake, I can't do this right now. It isn't that you aren't attractive. You are. But you're also drunk and emotionally unstable right now. It would be taking advantage of you if I kissed you back. I have to do the right thing here."

"So if I wasn't drunk then you'd kiss me back?"

"In a heartbeat."

"Then can you hold me? It's cold up here and I feel sleepy."

She leaned into him and yawned. He wrapped his arms around her and gazed out over the streets of Vacuo. After several minutes he realized that Blake was asleep. Oddly enough she seemed to be vibrating as well. At first he thought she was cold, but he eventually figured out it was purring.

"So you work for Rain?" Yang had got up from the couch and was sitting across from Banner.

"Technically we work for Ozpin. But Rain is the next person in the chain of command after Ozpin. With Ozpin gone, Rain is in charge."

"And you used to be a criminal?"

"That's a way of putting it. I was known as 'The Ghost of the Dessert'. My semblance gives me almost perfect invisibility except for a slight shimmer if you're looking for it. I would always kill my targets while they traversed the dessert. Even if they saw the shimmer, they would assume it was just caused by the heat. If they were taking an airship, I would just sneak aboard and crash it partway through the flight."

"If you can turn invisible then how did Ozpin catch you?"

"He tricked me. He paid me to take out a target in a specific place. When I arrived, aura sensors were triggered and a cage fell from the ceiling. Then he gave me a choice: Get sent to trial where I would most likely get the death sentence or I could use my talents for the greater good. I didn't feel like dying, so I accepted his offer. Been killing only bad guys ever since."

"So what's with the syringes? Why do you use them?"

"It's left over from my 'Ghost' days. The chemical inside disappears within three minutes and causes death within two. My usual process was to drug the pilot and co-pilot and then parachute out of the plane. If I was in the dessert it was even easier because the sand would hide the bodies quickly. Most of my targets were never recovered."

"Smart. Very smart."

"It's lazy is what it is." Flare suddenly spoke up from the couch. "Taking down a target in the middle of a crowd and then making the body disappear? Now that takes skill."

"I guess. It just seems like too much work, in my opinion. Use what you have at your disposal, is all I'm saying."

"And all I'm saying, Banner, is: shut up."

Yang turned to Flare, "So what's your story? You're Roman's sister?"

"Yeah. That skeezball was my brother. Wasn't sorry to hear he was dead; he was always kind of a dick just because he got mom's business and I had to settle for dad's."

"What did your parents do?"

"Funny story. My dad was an assassin for very high profile targets. Mom was a kingpin of crime. Dad was hired to kill her but fell in love at first sight. He walked right up to her, told her he had been hired to kill her, and offered to kill his employer. She was so charmed by how ballsy he was that they got married a month later. My brother was always more inclined towards crime that involved having backup and I preferred to work alone. He always looked down on me because my job was higher risk for less reward. But guess who's still alive, Roman? I mean, who gets eaten while monologuing? That was his own damn fault. Adios, ass-hole."

"You really feel nothing about your brother being dead?"

"Nope."

"Wow."

"You know, you ask a lot of questions. But you haven't told us anything. Like, for instance, what you did to join our little group of fiends? Rain had to have recruited you after the Vytal disaster. So what did you do? Kill a bunch of innocent civilians because nobody would be able to really tell anyway? No need to be ashamed; we've all done it before."

"Rain didn't tell you? I'm his twin."

Flare and Banner both spit out their beers. "WHAT?!" They shouted simultaneously.

"Impossible!" Flare shouted.

"Unthinkable." Banner said to himself.

"The truth."

Everyone turned to see Rain at the bottom of the stairs, holding Blake wrapped up in his coat.

"A truth I had intended to keep secret, but I guess it's out now. As long as it's out there: She was also in training at Beacon before this. And this is her partner." He indicated Blake's sleeping form. "Now before everyone gets all excited, where is a free bedroom? I need to leave her somewhere."

"How'd she get so tired? She was just fine when I was up there."

"She might have been physically fine, but she was absolutely drained emotionally. The alcohol lowered her guard and allowed her emotions to rise to the surface. Unfortunately she'll have a bit of a hang-over in the morning."

"East hallway, third right has a free bed." Banner said while tinkering with his weapon brace.

"Thanks. All three of you, get ready. We're leaving to go check out the location Sun gave us before Cinder can get there."

"What makes you so sure she knows where it is?"

"Because she wouldn't have ordered Sun killed unless she had already gotten what she wanted. Now it's just a race to the target."

As the bullhead streaked south they all felt nervous. Yang was worried that Cinder would kill them all, Rain was afraid they'd be too late, and Flare and Banner were worried that their boss had kept such a big secret about his family from them.

After half-an-hour, they saw a plume of smoke on the horizon. They steered towards it and soon landed. What they saw was terrifying.

They had landed amid a grouping of rocks that jutted up out of the dessert. In the center was evidence of an incredible battle. Boulders had been almost completely shattered and the the ground had been turned to solid glass by the sheer heat that had been unleashed. In the center of the glass was an unmoving, blue-cloaked body.

Banner went invisible and walked up to check on the body. After a few minutes, he reappeared in front of them.

"She has no pulse, her face is covered in some kind of black goo, and I could feel that her aura was gone, almost like somebody ripped it out of her. But only you can do that, captain."

"No. There's a species of grimm that is capable of 'eating' someone's aura. If manipulated properly, i can be used to move the aura from one person into another. It leaves behind that black goo you saw. Were her weapons with her?"

"I found an ancient looking sword and shield embedded in some boulders on the other side of the blast zone."

"Well, it isn't a total loss. I'm sure we can find some use for those."

"Cap, it's just us. You don't have to contain yourself."

Rain just looked up to the sky and screamed: "FUCK!"

"Feel better?"

"A little bit. Thanks, Banner."

"Anytime. Do you want me to retrieve those weapons?"

"Yeah. We'll start on the grave."

After an hour of them digging constantly, they had made a grave for the Summer Maiden. They lowered her into it and covered her up. Rain then built a pile of stones atop her grave and put a chunk of glass on top.

"It's so people can find this place as a safe haven through the dessert. She probably would have wanted that."

"Is anyone going to say any last words?" Yang spoke into the ensuing silence.

"None of us knew her. We wouldn't know what to say."

"Okay, I guess."

"Let's head back. We need to head to Mistral next."

"Hold up." Flare said as they all started walking towards the bullhead. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell us what's going on. We deserve that."

"No, you don't. You're a former assassin, Flare. If Ozpin hadn't caught you, you still would be. I don't trust you with something this big. If you want out of the Soldiers, that's fine. But you know what the way out is. And I don't think you're willing to go there just yet."

Flare looked like she was ready to kill Rain, but Banner walked up and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Relax, Flare. He's right; out of all the Soldiers, he's the only one who hasn't killed innocents. We would be dead by now if it weren't for him. Pick your battles."

"Fine." she went to get on the bullhead, "But this isn't over, Rain. You will tell me what we're doing eventually."

A.N: So I shipped them. It was not my intention to do this, but I eventually realized that I could make a better ending than I had planned, but I needed him to love someone. Also, It just kind of happened. I think they make a good pair. Both are very strong-willed people who freak out when their friends are in trouble. Please let me know your thoughts on this. Did it come out well? Or did it feel forced or untrue to the characters in some way. I mean, I'm still kind of revealing Rain's character to you people. So you wouldn't really know if it was untrue to him. But what about Blake? Do you think she would have done this? Someone please tell me it wasn't bad. I hate the fics that just kind of force ships down your throat. I felt I built this up well, but you guys might think it's utter garbage. Who knows. I'm going to bed. Hopefully see some comments when I wake up.

One more thing. I have no personal experience with getting drunk. So, that part of the chapter was written based on what I have seen in movies and t.v. If it came across oddly, that is why.

Another thing. I am working at a camp over the summer and might not have a lot of time to write. Do not fret, as I have a few chapters in the bank. However, I might have trouble finding time to post the chapters on schedule. I also only have a few chapters in the bank, so if I exhaust those, it might be a longer wait. Sorry, but that is life.