Chapter 36 – When the walls come tumbling down

It had been two days since the events in the final round of the Tournament took a dark violent turn. The authorities still had not said whether it would be canceled entirely or continue once the investigation was concluded. No one was exactly sure how it all happened; all the public knew was that someone used some kind of hallucination inducing powers to influence the outcome of the fights. That was it. So far there was no one that could offer some more elaborate explanation. Why did they do it? Was someone else involved? How come no one realized what was happening until a band of Beacon students stepped in?

Needless to say that people were pretty upset by how things turned out; two of the best students of Beacon Academy assaulting competitors from other kingdoms for seemingly no reason, which turned out to be a result of a third party's interference. Some people drew their own conclusions however, convinced that the talk of the fraud was nothing but a sham on Ozpin's part, believing it to be a poor attempt at saving his school's stained reputation. Not many believed this conspiracy theory but those who did were being quite vocal about their conviction which made up for their lack of numbers.

In any case, what the public heard from the media was basically the extent of what they would learn at all. It was for the best; given the series of strange events that occurred lately, it was more than likely that too much information would cause some undesired reaction.

With the Grimm at the door, no one wanted a city-wide panic.

While the city folk went on with their ordinary lives, far away from the public eye Ozpin and some of his closest associates were dealing with some rather pressing issues. There were some many questions and only a few answers.

Emerald Sustrai, the one that interfered with the Tournament and essentially caused the twofold scandal concerning Xiao Long and Nikos, was refusing to cooperate so far. Ironwood thought that he would have to resort to more 'forceful' methods if she remained silent. Goodwitch would probably throw a fit if the girl got hurt during the 'questioning' but how else should he get the information they needed? Having Torchwick in custody was also adding to his frustration; the flamboyant crime boss took every opportunity that presented itself to annoy him and his men. At one point, the general considered tossing his sorry backside overboard; alas, the man knew something that would help Ozpin's group a great deal (if he could get him to spill it, that is), which was why he could not dispose of him yet.

Torchwick might have claimed he masterminded the Breach but Ironwood did not buy it. He had a hunch that both the gangster and the green haired illusionist were covering for someone, that they were following someone's orders. But without any other leads or some kind of leverage over the captives, he was stumped. There might have been the possibility that Sustrai's team knew what she was doing. There was no way of finding out, though, since the remainder of team MSER vanished from the campus. Strange, indeed…

Then there was the matter with the strange message from White Fang.

It seemed strange that the Faunus terrorist would simply announce their next move. It was not like they explicitly said where and when their next attack would take place but to send threatening emails to the soon-to-be-victims? It simply did not make sense. This kind of behavior did not fit in with the Fang's usual modus operandi; they preferred to attack swiftly, violently, without warning. Plus, Ironwood had reasons to believe that the message was only sent to the people of authority; otherwise, it would be all over the news a long time ago. This sudden change in tactics was unexpected and, more importantly, strange. Discerning the Fang's motivation was nigh impossible. It could have easily been an attempt to divert their attention but Ironwood was not willing to stake the lives of good citizens of Vale on that possibility and ordered his troops to be at high alert. If the Fang was foolish enough to attack while Atlesian fleet floated above the Vale City, all the better; he could finally put an end to their little insurrection. He might have respected the organization in the past but now he felt nothing but deep contempt for them. To him, they were nothing but a bunch of terrorists whose thoughts lingered on little else than revenge and murder.

If they attacked he and his army would be more than ready to show them the error of their ways.

In the meantime, Ozpin was calling every available Huntsman back into Vale City, like if he knew something was about to happen. He called it a 'simple precaution' but Ironwood knew him well enough to know that nothing was ever simple with the man. Ironwood was pretty straightforward when it came to dealing with problems; this is why sometimes he could not stand Ozpin's almost otherworldly deliberation with which he approached any issue that came up. It usually worked out for him but now the faith in his cautious approach seemed shaken. Aside from Beacon staff and the command of Ironwood's fleet, no one knew what was going on. Not informing the public seemed like a good move for now but there was no telling how longer they could keep up the pretenses.

It was pretty clear that the only thing they could do was to observe the situation closely and counter the enemy's next move… whoever the enemy was and what they were after. However, with many soldiers and Huntsmen busy pushing back the Grimm, there was no guarantee they could react in time. It was a lot like a lottery, except there was far more at stake than just a bit of money.

Due to the ongoing investigation, the Tournament was suspended until the 'fraud' affair was properly dealt with. This decision caused a lot of ire among both spectators and competitors. In the case of the latter, Beacon students dealt with it somewhat easier since they still had to attend classes. The visitors, however, could only return home after the festival was over and had nothing to do; hanging around the fairgrounds got boring after a while.

The situation changed when headmaster Ozpin gave all his students a day off; something about a significant part of Beacon's teaching staff being needed during the investigation of the 'mirage affair', as the media dubbed it. While the decision was quite unexpected, no one was complaining… at least those who were not leading any teams.

Ozpin also sent a message to every team leader at Beacon. It basically said that the Festival might be targeted by some 'unsavory elements' and advised the leaders to arm themselves in case they were leaving the campus… for security reasons.

The message caused intense debates among students; needless to say the opinions differed drastically. Some dismissed it as the 'headmaster finally getting paranoid'; others assumed Ozpin would not give this kind of warning without a good reason. On the other hand, this thought caused no small worries on their part. The headmaster suggested that there might be an attack, but his message failed to mention by whom, when and where. Thus the students had no idea what to expect.

Which is why the leaders of Beacon teams RWBY, TNDR and JNPR had been discussing the topic in the morning on their way to the cafeteria.

"Guys, I have no idea what to make of that." Tanya admitted. "We all knew that our little action against Em would cause some ruckus but-"

"You don't know why someone would try and bomb the festival over it?" Jaune offered.

The fencer nodded curtly. "Yep, there you go."

"Ozpin didn't even say what could happen." Ruby pointed out. In the meantime, their respective teams walked a few steps behind them, either listening in on their leaders' conversation or chatting among themselves about different topics. Pyrrha was not among them, though. After everything that had happened lately, she preferred to stay away from the public eye, at least until the entire affair blew over.

"There's that. Anyone got any thoughts?"

The scythe wielder was the first to answer Jaune's question. "Uncle said that White Fang's been pretty silent lately. Maybe they're up to something even bigger than the Breach."

"Please not." Tanya grimaced. "That one time monsters made it inside the city was bad enough."

"I don't think they'd try that again." Jaune reasoned. "I mean, why waste your men and resources on a scheme that didn't work the first time they tried?"

"Not to mention that Grimm aren't picky about who they're gonna eat." Tanya added quietly.

"The only thing I can think of is smuggling some bombs to the fairgrounds, kinda like what they did during the last Faunus rights rally." Ruby thought aloud.

"They'd have to get through the buttload of Atlesian troops first, not to mention their ships." The fencer pointed out.

"Now that I think about it, why would Fang even bother attacking while there's a big army on our doorstep?" Jaune mused. "They wouldn't stand a chance against them."

"I guess when you're desperate enough you're willing to try anything." Tanya remarked. She did not notice Jaune wince at her comment, though. Ruby did, though, and much to the knight's gratitude she quickly changed the subject.

After all, even though others had forgiven Jaune for his stunt with forged transcripts no one really forgot about it… and they would not for a long time.

"Sooo… Since we have the day off, what are you guys gonna do today?"

Tanya mulled over the idea for a few moments. "Hmm… I thought maybe I'd take my team downtown. I think we all deserve a break after that dirty business with Sustrai."

Jaune frowned as he was instantly reminded of what the mint haired girl put Pyrrha through. "I still can't believe she did this." He muttered angrily. "And for what?"

Tanya put a hand on his shoulder in a calming gesture. "Calm down, Jaune. She's behind the bars and she'll probably stay that way for a long time. No sense in getting riled up about it."

He smiled thinly at her. "Eh, I guess you're right."

"You know, maybe we'll come along with you." Ruby said. "It's not like we have work to do or anything."

"Says you!" Weiss huffed, eliciting a few chuckles in response.

"I think my team and I will stay at Beacon." Jaune said. "I don't think Pyrrha's in the mood to go out yet… Or to deal with some tabloid journalists that don't take 'no' for an answer."

"Maybe you should have Nora break their legs." Tanya suggested with a malicious chuckle. "That would teach 'em. Heh heh."

Nora seemed to brighten up at the thought. Ren on the other hand gave the fencer a subtle glare.

"Never skip the leg day!" Yang quipped. Her joke made the others laugh, whether genuinely our simply out of pity, though… That was near impossible to discern.

Jaune was resolutely against the idea. "That's a terrible idea. It would only give them another reason to hound us nonstop."

"But really, I get why Pyrrha doesn't want to go out." Ruby said. "The last few days must've been really hard for her."

"Yeah, it was pretty tough." Jaune nodded with a somber expression. "She needs time, that's all there is to it."

"Yeah, we can understand that. Still, if she changes her mind, let us know. The more the merrier." Tanya suggested.

"Can't promise anything but I'll call you if Pyr feels like going out."

"And don't forget, we have permission to take our weapons with us!" Ruby then added silently. "Not that I hope we'll get to actually use them…"

"Well, I read Ozpin's message. If the boss says we should go out there armed then there's probably a good reason for that." The fencer remarked.

Jaune chuckled. "Dear Oum, let's hope not. I don't think we could take another round of 'excitement' after all the stuff that happened."

Shortly after the breakfast, teams RWBY and TNDR embarked on the trip downtown. This time, instead of travelling together, they split ways; team RWBY travelled by airship while 'Griffon and her boys' made use of Roland and his car that had been sitting on Beacon's parking lot ever since the freeway chase. With the Tournament and the near constant training, no one really had the time for a road trip.

Plus, the gunman really did not want his driving skills to get rusty.

Nicolaus was still somewhat uneasy about travelling by car since it was still pretty much a new experience to him but he was willing to make a concession for his team's sake. Once in a while…

They met up with team RWBY shortly after arriving to a parking lot near the Vale City airport. From there it was about a half an hour of walking to the square where the fairgrounds had been set up. By coincidence, it was the same square where the Faunus rights demonstration took place weeks ago.

In spite of the recent events, the place was pretty packed. Mostly with humans, for obvious reasons; people still remembered the Breach and who was behind it which was why the Faunus populace mostly chose to stay home. A few Atlesian troopers were wandering among the crowd; one would think that they were simply on shore leave but, given that they carried sidearms on them, it was quite possible that the 'mingling' was just an act in order not to appear too conspicuous. Either their presence was just a precaution, along the lines of 'better safe than sorry'… or someone really did expect an attack.

The students definitely hoped that the latter was not true.

Roland gave a low whistle as he contemplated the square filled with stalls of various colors and styles. "This sure is a big place."

"It would take the entire day to see everything." Blake joined in.

"Well, what are we waiting for, then?" Ruby chirped. "Last one to get there's a rotten egg!" And with that, she disappeared in a cloud of rose petals.

Weiss stared with a frown at the vacant place where her leader stood just a moment ago. "I hate it when she does that."

Yang chuckled. "Let's go catch her before she gets lost."

The girls began following the scythe wielder that disappeared inside the crowd, leaving the other team behind them. Blake rolled her eyes and walked after the two.

"That didn't take long." Nicolaus said dryly, seeing the gang had already split up.

"Hey, let them have their fun." Tanya chuckled. "They need to unwind a bit. Hell, we all need to."

"Okay, but… Where are we going?" Desmond questioned, looking around the fairgrounds.

The fencer shrugged in response. "I guess we can simply walk around until we come across something interesting. After all, we've got all day to explore the place."

Tanya was definitely not wrong when she said they had the entire day to see everything the fairgrounds had to offer. In fact, they would need an entire day to thoroughly explore the place; an hour of walking around and they saw only a small portion of all the stalls occupying the square. Not that they were looking to buy anything, at least not at the moment; maybe after thoroughly exploring the fairgrounds they would think about making some purchases.

The Beacon students did not seem to mind walking around the place for hours. Desmond wished he could say the same for himself, though.

It was not the 'walking' part that bothered him. As a Huntsman in training, moving from place A to place B on foot would be a large part of his everyday routine. It was the masses of people around him that he was not alright with. He had never felt comfortable in crowds where he could not even turn around without bumping into someone.

But the strangest part was that he could not help but feel like he was being watched as he and his teammates walked around the square, viewing the stalls and various goods vendors were selling. It might have been simply an innocent curiosity. After all, it is not everyday people see a bunch of hunters in training all armed to the teeth, walking around like if they were on a casual stroll. Yet there was at least one person that eyed them, only to look away when one of them noticed.

No matter how much Desmond tried to play it down, it was still unnerving.

Eventually they strayed to the edge of the square from where streets led to the Vale City's industrial district.

Suddenly, his Scroll vibrated briefly in his pocket, signaling an incoming message. With a bewildered frown he fished the device out and glanced at the display; it was not everyday someone tried to get in touch with him. He did a double take when he saw the number the Scroll was displaying.

It was Neo's number.

Nothing had been the same ever since he met up with her. 'Identity crisis' was the most fitting term to describe what he had been going through in the last few days. It was incredibly difficult to accept that he lived in hell (almost literally) for ten years… and that he barely remembered anything from it, aside from nightmares and occasional flashbacks. Not to mention that he had absolutely no idea how his life has been before being forcibly conscripted into the 'Ajax' project. Knowing that the most of his life was a lie, that he had never been a 'normal kid', he felt strange when referring to himself as 'Desmond Lenius'; an identity that was simply given to him with little regard to his opinion.

The real 'he 'was Emery, last name unknown; a damaged person, probably beyond repair, from what he had been told.

But was it right to just give up the identity and life he lived for years and which were undoubtedly happier than the reality, just because those were not 'real'? Should he just accept he was simply a man-made freak, good for nothing other than killing?

His first thought was 'no'… yet he found himself questioning the choice.

Desmond glanced around; to his relief, his team did not notice him lagging behind them. Then he opened the message, wondering what the multi-colored girl wanted.

leave the city theyre after you

... What the… ?

His first thought was to ignore the message…but it did seem written in great haste, like if Neo wanted to get it out as fast as possible. Though she had never said it explicitly, she made it clear at the end of their second meeting that she would not contact him again. Yet she sent him a warning… Desmond was inclined to give Neo the benefit of the doubt, the problem was that her message failed to mention the possible source of danger to his person or whether the assailants were solely after him.

Or was it his entire team who was being targeted?

Either way, he did not want his friends to get caught in the crossfire. Simply telling them about the possible danger was no option, however. He knew that they would ask him about his mysterious 'guardian angel' (Neo was far from it, actually) and many other questions which would undoubtedly lead to uncovering the truth about him. And he was by no means ready for that.

Simply running back to Beacon without any explanation was out of the question too. He could not just leave them when there was the possibility of them getting hurt.

"Hurry up, buddy! We won't be waiting for you all day!"

Desmond flinched as he heard Tanya calling out to him. The sudden fit of panic had him rooted to the ground, figuratively speaking. Forcing his legs to obey his commands he followed the rest of his team; thinking hard on how to convey Neo's message without giving away any secrets.

His chain of thought was suddenly interrupted by a violent explosion that rocked the ground under him.

It seemed almost laughable how quickly an enjoyable trip downtown could turn into a complete chaos.

A single bomb was all it took to have the crowd of civilians scramble to the safety in panic, threatening to trample one another. With the threat of violent death looming above, one easily forgot that people might get hurt during the reckless stampede; all that mattered was getting away, as fast as possible.

As the tranquil atmosphere deteriorated rapidly around her, Tanya thought that she should have seen it coming. When the headmaster of Beacon himself advised against leaving the campus unarmed it meant that the danger was present; it could not have been a simple 'just in case' precaution. Yet she still hoped that she and her boys could enjoy the day without any calamity coming about.

Turns out one cannot always get what they want.

After the explosion rang out throughout the fairgrounds, she promptly drew her sabers and called out to her team, even as the frightened crowd threatened to take her with them as they fled to safety.

"Where the fuck did that come from?!" Roland shouted over the cries of fleeing citizens.

Nicolaus pointed at the nearest edge of the square. Thick black smoke was already rising from where the bomb detonated. "There's your answer." He said with a heavy frown, his weapon at the ready.

"You think it might be the Fang?" The fencer asked.

"It's possible." The fox Faunus replied. "We won't know for sure until we check it out."

"Then what are we waiting for? If the Fangers are here, we should be kicking their asses!"

"Careful with that enthusiasm, pal." Tanya admonished, not particularly approving of the gunman's eagerness to fight. "Alright, stick close to me. Let's go!"

Team TNDR took off to the place where the bomb went off. On the way they were passed by civilians carrying some unfortunate souls that were injured in the blast. Trying to block out the moans of the injured and their deep torn up shrapnel wounds, Tanya pressed on with her team in tow. Worse, even as they approached the site of the explosion, the staccato of gunfire joined the cries of the terrified crowd.

Whoever caused this was out to kill people.

The place where the bomb exploded was vacant at the time; the blast demolished few stalls while damaging a multitude of others. The debris closest to the epicenter caught on fire and the flames were slowly spreading. And as if the scene of complete carnage was not enough, bodies of those who were caught in the blast lay strewn all over the place. Some of those unfortunates were still alive, moaning in pain and calling for help. Those were promptly silenced by armed figures clad in grey and black uniforms and Grimm masks that were moving around the scene of carnage and finishing off the survivors.

That did it.

Nicolaus used to don the White Fang uniform himself and he knew too well what the formerly peaceful organization was capable of now. Yet watching them execute injured defenseless civilians with such cold insensate indifference seemed to provoke a new wave of resentment towards the group he used to be a part of.

Overcome with wild uncontainable fury, he pulled out Dreadnaught and fired at the armed goon closest to him. The bullet struck the trooper in the chest and he promptly dropped to the ground.

The shot also alerted the other goons to the presence of hunters in training.

"Dammit Nick!" Tanya hissed quietly. Their position had been given away and the Fang troopers began converging on them.

The fight was inevitable, now.

Roland raised his rifle. "Here they come!" He shouted as he opened fire on the assailants.

The attackers outnumbered them three to one… Team TNDR saw worse odds, however. With a war cry, Tanya and her team charged at the terrorists.

"You guys just don't learn, do you?!" The fencer roared as she quickly dispatched the first poor sap that tried to take her down. Another tried to swing at her from behind; she ducked under the blade and kicked her left leg out, landing a hit squarely in between the attacker's legs, and then she followed up with a diagonal slash. As a stream of blood erupted from the man's torso she briefly wondered whether she was not crossing the line; the voice of reason was drowned out by burning anger that commanded the murderers feel the pain of their victims. Not pausing for a split second, she rushed to meet other attackers in combat, eager to give them a taste of her superior skills. Though refraining from outright killing them, the fencer did not intend on holding back.

Waving his longsword like if it was light as a feather, Desmond literally plowed through the Fang troops like if they were bowling pins. Nicolaus followed after him, making sure to get rid of anyone that got too close to him or his partner. As much as he wanted to just kill them all, he knew it was not up to him to decide who lived or died, even though the enemy did not seem to care about morals.

After witnessing the slaughter, Roland did not really have qualms about hurting the Fang goons and it showed on the way he was dispatching them. He used his pinpoint precision to disarm the first few assailants that could only stare in shock at their empty hands after their weapons were literally shot out of their grasp. That would make them defenseless against another shot that impacted on their body and put them out of action. Even as the goons got too close and forced him to switch to melee combat, he would use all his strength to pummel mercilessly at them, not caring about excessive damage.

However, the fight ended just as quickly as it started; suddenly, the goons began retreating, leaving their incapacitated comrades behind.

Their sudden retreat made the Beacon students pause. True, they did take out the most of the attacking troopers but the White Fang that interrupted the rally weeks ago would have fought to the last man. It seemed strange to see them run away so suddenly.

"Well, that happened." Roland grunted. "Want us to go after them?"

Tanya found herself torn between leaving the remaining goons run and pursuing them to finish them off. True, the attackers were chased away and there was no reason to follow them. On the other hand, they might return with a few more friends. If that was the case, four hunters in training might not be enough to stop them.

Plus, she and her friends were still seething with rage after witnessing the killings and were more than eager to show the Fangers the error of their ways.

"We're coming after them." She finally decided. "Someone call team RWBY and tell 'em what happened while we're at it."

As it turned out, White Fang attacked the fairgrounds in multiple places. Team RWBY was too busy fending off the Faunus terrorists to offer any help. Ironwood's soldiers were also taking their sweet time moving in to help stop the assault. All of that meant that for the time being, team TNDR were on their own.

The chase after the remaining goons led them through the industrial district into an old factory that remained abandoned after its previous owner went bankrupt years ago. Though the runaways had quite a head-start, thank to Nicolaus and his Semblance, team TNDR had caught up to them pretty quickly just as the goons were entering the grounds of the derelict factory. The fox Faunus took a hastily aimed shot that ended up bouncing off the gate, missing widely its intended mark.

"Damn it!" Tanya cursed, taking a quick look around the area the goons retreated into.

"What's the problem?" Roland questioned.

The fencer pointed her finger at the deteriorating factory. "You see this? The place is abandoned, lots of places to hide inside. It could take hours to search the building and even then those goons might slip out while we're distracted."

"Not to mention it might be unstable." Nicolaus pointed out. "One wrong move and something might fall down right on us."

"So we're hanging back and letting the bastards escape?" The gunman snapped. "Fat chance, buddy."

"You know the risks; that's all I'm saying." The Faunus replied in a calm tone.

While their opinions differed, it was up to Tanya to make the ultimate decision… and she was not about to let the terrorists get away with murdering the innocents. "No time to stand around and argue, boys! If we're gonna get those guys we'll have to do it fast!"

"We're right behind you, Tan." Roland grounded out, clutching Thunderbolt tightly in his hands. Nicolaus quickly sent the location of the old factory to team RWBY before they all headed inside.

The area of the former factory had been left deserted for years, judging by the tall grass growing rampant everywhere and the rust gorging rapidly on everything made of metal. Most of the equipment needed to run the place had been taken away. Factory building seemed to be in a solid condition given the circumstances; everything else was in shambles, however. The gatehouse and few other minor buildings had been stripped bare and one of the storage houses ended up collapsing on itself.

Tanya paused for a moment to behold the slowly decaying place. "If I wanted to hide in here, I'd probably go to the main building." She mused aloud. "It's a big place with enough hidey holes, the pursuers would have to cover a lot of ground and I could easily slip out while they're busy looking for me."

"Then let's go." Nicolaus grunted.

The four hunters in training made their way to the main building towering over the rest of the compound.

The front gate was locked to keep squatters from entering the place. Roland simply used his rifle to blast the lock into pieces. Sure, the action might have cost them the element of surprise but it was the only way to get inside.

Even during daytime, the inside of the factory was dark and gloomy. The dead silence was interrupted only by the footsteps of the young students. Water leaking through numerous holes in the roof formed multiple puddles on the floor and the defunct machinery that was left behind was slowly rusting away.

"Guys?" Nicolaus spoke up suddenly. "Don't you think those goons might be hiding somewhere else? The front door was locked, after all."

"Maybe they found another way in." Roland suggested. "We just didn't have the time to look for all cracks and holes that could possibly lead inside."

Tanya began walking deeper inside the large building. "Stick close to me, guys, and stay quiet. It's pretty dark in here and it only plays into their hand. They might see us coming long before we even notice them."

"I hate saying it, but maybe we should let Ironwood's boys clean this place up." Roland said quietly. "We're pretty much at the disadvantage here."

"And how long do you think it'll take before they get here?" The fencer argued. "The Fangers will be long gone before the Atlesians get around to-"

She was suddenly interrupted by a clanking sound coming from somewhere ahead of them.

Roland immediately aimed his rifle at the source of the noise.

"What was that?"

Nicolaus made a split-second decision and activated his enhanced sight.

His eyes widened in terror as he saw multiple red silhouettes lined up in the shadows: right on the walkways above the shop floor.

"Look out! Ambush!"

That was when the grenade went off.

The Beacon students were instantly showered by shrapnel; their Auras saved them from any injuries but were significantly weakened by the explosion.

"Get to cover! Now!" Tanya commanded and bolted straight for the nearby door. Retreating from the main hall and into the smaller rooms was the only way to avoid the potential slaughter. The others quickly followed her, firing blindly at the attackers. If they managed to hit something, there was no way of finding out.

Muzzle flashes were the only thing to give away the White Fang troops and even slowing down to aim in the rain of bullets would equal suicide.

"We're almost there!" Tanya screamed, her voice almost drowned out by gunfire. They were almost at the door…

Luck seemed to be in their side for the time being; they made it into safety without any injuries, despite bullets exploding all around them.

"Shit, they're really doing their damnedest to kill us all!" Roland swore, closing the door behind him to keep the attackers from following them. "Fucking hell!"

"We cannot stay here. They'll murder us otherwise." Nicolaus stated with a grim expression.

"We sure can't go back the way we came in." Tanya replied. It was obvious that she was angry; at White Fang for the attack at the fairgrounds… and at herself for blundering into an ambush. "The main hall is a killing ground now."

"Then what do we do?" Desmond questioned, his eyes darting around the surroundings.

The fencer sighed. "We'll have to press ahead and find another way out. If we stick to the closed spaces and avoid the main hall, maybe we can lure them into a surprise on our own." Secretly, she hoped this tactic would work. After her overzealousness led her team to almost getting shot to pieces, she could not afford to make another mistake.

The rifleman scowled. "Then we better get down to it, fast!"

The students pressed on, determined to find the way out of the trap White Fang prepared for them. A couple of goons jumped them on their way through the hallways, these were quickly taken care of, however. While leading the Fang soldiers on a wild chase throughout the factory, they discovered a staircase leading to the upper level. Tanya led her team up the stairs; a vantage point might improve their chances a bit.

They ended up in what used to be the administration quarters. Thankfully, it was empty.

… or so it seemed.

Right as the hunters in training headed towards the main hall, lone Fang soldier popped up dead ahead of them and tossed a demolition charge right at their feet.

Roland attempted to shoot the explosive down before it got too close… but he missed, hitting the trooper instead.

In the next moment, Desmond did the unexpected.

Tossing the greatsword aside, he pulled his teammates behind him and positioned himself between them and the charge that was about to explode.

Nicolaus saw what his partner tried to do. He reached out with his hand even as he was being jerked backwards, his expression one of utter terror. There was no way of averting what was about to happen… and he knew it.

Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by a loud explosion that rocked the entire building. The resulting shockwave flung all of them back to the staircase and stirred up a large cloud of dust.

Nicolaus was the first to scramble back to his feet while his remaining teammates were still struggling to regain their bearings.

He was disoriented and his ears were ringing from the explosion that drained more than the half of his protective Aura. His own physical discomfort was the last thing on his mind, though.

He watched his partner and friend die… and could not do a damn thing to stop it.

It almost felt like a nightmare yet he knew it was all real.

A wet gurgling sound coming from dead ahead broke him out of his stupor.

Desmond was lying sprawled on his back. Much to Nicolaus' amazement, he was somehow still alive… thought that could change at any moment.

While his Aura kept him from being killed, the explosion caused severe damage to his body, the chest and abdomen taking the brunt of it. The entire torso was splattered with blood and mangled by fragments of the bomb in several places; chest, upper abdomen, throat, face. Yet despite being maimed to such extent, Desmond still clung onto his life, struggling to breathe.

His remaining teammates made it to the wounded boy's side, horrified by the damage.

"DESI!" Roland's desperate scream sounded muffled, distant.

"Oh God, he's still alive!"

The fox Faunus could hear the horror in Tanya's voice.

"Shit, he's bleeding from, like, all over! It just won't stop!" The gunman's attempts to stop the heavy bleeding seemed useless.

Desmond tried to say something but the shredded throat would not allow him. His eyelids began drooping.

"Oh no!" Tanya was panicking at that point. "Come on, big guy! Stay with us!"

"Where's the support when we need it?!"

"Nick! Snap out of it and do something!"

Desmond passed out.

The fox Faunus was frozen to place; he could not move, could not speak, could not do anything.

The shock still had not worn out. How else could he explain that blood seemed to stop streaming from Desmond's wounds?

… or that the mangled flesh began to shift…

Wait a second…

"What the hell…" Roland whispered, unable to believe that the wounds began slowly closing on their own accord, right before his very eyes.

Nicolaus bit down on his lip, convinced it was all a dream.

Needless to say, it hurt like a bitch.

…

…

…

… This is really happening, isn't it?

Tanya simply watched with a stupefied expression as broken bones and torn muscles shifted and knitted together and new skin drew over the lacerations. "I can't believe it… His Semblance is regeneration?"

Unlikely, Nicolaus thought. After getting caught in the blast, Desmond's Aura was most likely completely drained; there was no way he could use a Semblance in such situation. It must have been something else…

His thoughts were interrupted by heavy stomping coming from the lower level.

"Shit, they're coming to finish us off." Roland hissed. "Nick, stay with him! Tanya and I will take care of those bastards!"

Still shocked by the unexpected revelation, Nicolaus could only nod in acknowledgement.

As the fencer and the rifleman picked up their weapons and ran to meet the incoming opposition in combat, the fox Faunus remained at his partner's side, watching with amazement as his wounds seemed to heal on their own accord. Color slowly began returning to Desmond's pale face.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded somewhere behind him.

Nicolaus stood up to face the intruder, his fingers curled tight around Dreadnaught's grip.

"I'd say I was surprised to see you here, Nick." A low male voice said with a sardonic hint. "But that would be a lie."

Even in the dark hallway, Nicolaus immediately saw the intruder's face; perks of his Faunus origins. Thin, angular face, dark grey hair, jackal ears; he knew instantly who he was dealing with.

His voice dropped to a low snarl as he spat out. "Frey Liath… Should've known."

Tanya did not have time to really think about it while fighting for her life but during Desmond's near-death she began wondering whether this entire situation was not a set up.

For a bunch of runaways from a 'botched' terror attack, those guys seemed a little too well armed. Of course, one possible way of explaining was that they were intending to use all the explosives during the attack on the fairgrounds. The question was, however: why did they not use them. Count in the fact that the goons were unusually trigger-happy, and Tanya could not help but think that by pursuing the fleeing thugs she did exactly what the enemy wanted. After narrowly escaping death and almost losing one of her friends, she knew that they had to get out of the factory, fast. Then again, Desmond needed time to recover from his injuries (she never knew the guy possessed regeneration ability) or at least recover enough to keep up with the rest of them.

Which was why she and Roland were currently battling a group of Fang troopers that followed them up the stairs.

Somehow they managed to take the attackers off guard, maybe because they did not expect their target to actually charge at them. In any case, the duo of students was able to hack and slash their way through the goons and lead them away from their teammates. They had to move around otherwise the enemy would overwhelm them soon.

While the White Fang troopers were hardly a match to hunters in training, when it came to skills, they were persistent and had superior numbers.

For the next few minutes, White Fang was chasing the Beacon students across the factory building without being able to overpower or corner them. The fencer and the gunman fought them back every time their troopers caught up with them. The hallways soon became littered with soldiers who were too injured to keep up the pursuit.

As the ranks of the Fang troopers thinned, Tanya began entertaining the thought of just ending the game and taking the remaining pursuers down. The enemy was running out of goons and no reinforcements were coming, though there was no way of knowing the latter was true. Her team might as well hold out until Atlesian troops arrived… but for some reason the army was extraordinarily slow to act.

Suddenly she stopped when out of the corner of her eye she noticed an opened door… and beyond it, blue skies.

That must have been the back entrance.

"Look! That's our way out! We gotta go-"

Tanya trailed off when she realized Roland was not with her.

Where the hell did he go?

She began searching the surroundings for her lost teammate, her feeling of dread rising with every second.

Then a weight slammed into her side, literally blowing her through a wall.

Tanya's strategy worked; despite their best efforts, so far the Fang soldiers failed to take them down, only losing men in the process. As Nicolaus would put it, they 'were like lions without teeth'.

Roland was starting to believe that they might have a chance.

Desmond almost killed himself when he shielded the rest of them from that explosion. The goliath gave all of them quite a scare, both with nearly dying and his supernatural healing powers. He would have a hard time believing that, had he not seen it with his own eyes.

And now that he and Tanya were leading the Fang goons on a goose chase throughout the factory, he was sure they would all make it out of this scrape alive.

It came as a surprise when out of nowhere a hand grabbed him and tossed him roughly into an empty room, separating him from his team leader and friend. He barely had a time to shout in surprise.

The gunman grunted as he landed painfully on his side, rolling over a few times before coming to a halt. Luckily, he managed to keep a firm grip on Thunderbolt. He scrambled quickly back to his feet, glancing around the room.

He noticed two things.

First, the room he was tossed into used to be some kind of workshop. Now useless tools and equipment were haphazardly scattered around the place.

Second, he was facing a tall bulky figure clad in a White Fang outfit and a grotesque red wolf mask. A pair of wolf ears was poking out of the man's dark grey hair with silvery strands in them. The wolf Faunus looked like a walking armory, sporting a wide variety of weapons; a machete and a couple of knives, machine pistol, double barreled shotgun, and several belts holding ammunition and hand grenades. Roland could even see the thick barrel of a grenade launcher poking from behind the man's back.

There was no doubt that this man was dangerous.

The wolf Faunus chuckled, the sound distorted by his mask. "Look at you, boy. A few years at a combat school and you already think you could take on the world?" Roland did not miss the mocking edge to his voice. "Children have no place on the battlefield. On the other hand, though, what does it matter? Kid, adult, old man, whatever; it's still one human less."

The Faunus reached slowly for his shotgun.

Roland fought enough battles to know what was about to happen.

He raised his rifle and quickly aimed for the shotgun, shooting it out of the goon's hand before he could level it at him. While the wolf was distracted, he shifted Thunderbolt into an axe and dashed forward, preparing to swing at the goon's head.

Faster than he imagined possible, the wolf pulled out a machete and stopped the incoming blow with one hand.

Shocked how easily his opponent stopped the attack, Roland did nothing as the goon kicked his chest and sent him reeling backwards.

"So is that how we're settling this?" The wolf mocked the gunman. "Even better; show me what you've got, little hunter."

Gritting his teeth, Roland ignored the dull pain in his stomach and attacked.

The sharp pain shooting through her back was the first thing Tanya felt when she tried to move. She felt incredibly weak, barely able to even lift her head.

Blue skies completely filled her vision. The surprise attack must have blown her out of the building and into the yard and now she was lying on her back among shattered bricks.

The assailant had to be really strong, whoever it was.

She raised her head, scanning her surroundings. Her sabers were knocked out of her hands; Nero was just a few inches too far away from her. Bianca was nowhere in sight.

Sounds of fighting were coming from the other end of the yard.

Finally her gaze settled on the wall before her… with a huge human-sized hole blown into it. The dust from the shattered wall had not settled down yet.

Someone walked out through the destroyed wall.

Tanya could feel the blood freezing in her veins when she recognized the outfit; black pants, grey and black zip jacket, arms covered in segmented armor…

Mercury Black was walking towards her with an ill boding smirk on his face… and two White Fang goons in tow. Worse, he held her other saber.

"Merc? What the hell is this?"

"Business." Black replied nonchalantly. Tanya did not struggle as the goons grabbed her arms, forcing her into a half-sitting position. With her arms restrained, she was left at their mercy.

"You see, my boss is pretty meticulous when it comes to planning stuff. The more it pisses her off when her plans go to waste…" Mercury began pacing around as he spoke. "Those 'accidents' back during the Tournament weren't just for shits and giggles, you know. If everything worked out as planned, boss would get what she wanted with no one being any the wiser."

The guy sure loves his own voice, doesn't he?

The fencer began struggling against her captors which only earned her a kick to the side.

"Then you and your friends stepped in and forced her to alter the plan. Figuratively speaking, instead of a scalpel she now has to use a hammer. All in all, the situation led to this." Black made a theatrical pause and looked at the captive. "And now to answer your previous question…"

Tanya wished she could wipe that arrogant smirk off Mercury's face. "You son of a bitch, Black…"

Mercury responded by leveling Bianca in its SMG mode at her head. "It's nothing personal, I assure you. Cinder wants you gone… And she happened to choose me for the job."

This was it… end of the line.

She felt the tears of helplessness pricking at her eyes. Yes, it sucked terribly, dying so soon… but knowing that her teammates were out there, possibly getting slaughtered by those White Fang pigs, felt even worse.

As if blundering into a carefully prepared trap was not enough… Now when Black revealed that he and, by extension, his friends worked for this 'Cinder' woman this entire time, it made her sick to her stomach.

"Now stay still… This'll be easier for both of us if you don't bother fighting b-"

Mercury was suddenly cut off by a ball of flame that suddenly erupted right behind him. The now identified Cinder's henchman spun around to face whatever was attacking him.

He was promptly rewarded by a flurry of lightning fast punches that sent him flying across the yard.

The Fang goons released their captive and ran to engage the intruder only to receive the same treatment their human 'ally' did.

The flames began dying down, revealing a familiar figure with a long mane of blonde hair and red eyes.

"Yang?"

Tanya was amazed; just a few moments ago she was saying her goodbyes to the world and her loved ones. She did not know whether it was a divine intervention or just a happy coincidence but she was definitely happy for it.

Yang walked up to her and pulled her up to her feet. "Thank me later; right now we have dozens of Fangers to deal with." She cast a glance in which she sent Black flying earlier. "I can't believe he was working with Cinder this whole time."

"I need to find my team; they're somewhere inside the building." Tanya explained as she picked up her weapons. "We got separated when the Fangers jumped us."

The brawler nodded in understanding. "We followed you guys here after we wrapped things up back at the fair. Soldiers from Atlas should be arriving soon; don't know what took them so-" She was suddenly interrupted by her Scroll. She looked at the display and her frown turned into an expression of dread.

"What's happening?" Tanya asked, alarmed.

"Blake's in trouble! I don't know what's going on but I gotta get back!"

Damn it…

"Go get her, Yang. I'll go find my boys." The fencer stated and headed back into the factory.

"You don't look so good, Tan." Yang pointed out. "You sure you'll be alright going all by yourself?"

Now that the blonde mentioned it, Tanya did not feel good. She was hurting all over thanks to Mercury's surprise attack. But pain be damned; her friends were in trouble and she was not about to stand around and wait for another miracle to happen.

"I'll be fine." I'll have to be…

Somewhere inside the factory, Nicolaus Flamme was exchanging blows with yet another ghost of his past. He and Frey Liath were good friends at one point… but whatever kinship there was between them was now long gone. Their fight was dragging on for minutes during which they trashed soundly one another; unlike his opponent however, Nicolaus was already growing tired.

"Your past choices have come back to haunt you, Nick!" Frey taunted as he stopped another incoming attack. Nicolaus gritted his teeth and backed away from his former friend.

Frey became completely dedicated to Dracul's genocidal ideology. Humans, whether good or evil, rich or poor, all became enemies to him, and so did their allies… including him.

"At least I'm not a murderer!" Nicolaus shot back, narrowly dodging the blade of one of Frey's kamas. He had to keep him busy while Desmond was unconscious and defenseless.

As soon as the jackal Faunus pulled out his weapons, Nicolaus realized that his opponent was at Beacon the entire time. He almost felt ashamed how long it took him to figure out that Rowan Ashe and Frey Liath were the same person, even though it took a lot of dye to change the color of his normally rather pale skin. Given that he always found 'Rowan's fighting style strangely familiar, he should have suspected it from the start.

"Not a murderer?" Frey scoffed and lunged again. "That's a pathetic way of justifying your existence as humankind's puppet!"

Nicolaus fired off a few rounds from Dreadnaught, forcing his opponent to back off. "I make my own decisions, Frey! I always did! You're the one following blindly their mentor!" He held up Dreadnaught in his right hand, transforming it into a flail, while pulling out a whip with the other. "You never thought about whether Dracul's ways do more harm than good, you just obeyed him blindly!"

Frey yelped in surprise as the whip suddenly wrapped itself around his foot.

"If Dracul ordered you to kill your own brethren, you would do it! No questions asked!" With that, Nicolaus yanked and brought Frey down on the floor. Then he rushed forward and swung the flail over his head to bring it down on his enemy.

Frey managed to evade the devastating blow at the last possible moment.

"We only kill traitors that leave their own people to serve humans!" The jackal Faunus managed trip Nicolaus up and took the opportunity that presented itself to attack him while he was downed.

Nicolaus saw him coming, though.

In the narrow corridor, flail was pretty much useless so he switched back to mace and rolled away from the attacking goon. With a click, the head/silencer reconnected with the rest of the weapon. Nicolaus swung upward to stop the incoming blow; the impact produced a shower of sparks. He noticed his whip was still wrapped around Frey's leg so he reached for the handle and yanked sharply.

Frey staggered as he suddenly lost his footing. Nicolaus used the opening to land a hard kick to his stomach. As his opponent doubled over, gasping in pain, he jumped back to his feet and slammed Dreadnaught's stock into his face, sending him reeling backwards.

Deciding to put an end to the scuffle, he rushed to finish his dazed opponent off.

Much to his shock, Frey recovered quicker than he anticipated and managed to block the most likely finishing blow.

"You think I didn't learn from our last fight?" The jackal Faunus growled and pushed his opponent back, launching a barrage of quick strikes with his bo staff.

Nicolaus suddenly found himself in the defensive. He did what he could to parry the incoming attacks; still, Frey managed to land some hits on him.

"You chose your allegiances poorly and you know it, Nick!" The White Fang trooper shouted. "The revolution is coming and this time, humans and their faithful will be the ones at the bottom of the heap, just as they deserve!"

"You seem to have forgotten where you came from, Liath!" Nicolaus snapped back. "You and I, we were the dregs of the society too! So were Cartier, and Vex, Nate, Magal! Some of our old friends were humans; what do you think they'd say to you if they were alive?"

The fox Faunus felt his movement growing more sluggish with every minute; he had to end this, fast.

"Why should I care?! If the circumstances were different, they'd be the same rotten scum, just like the rest of their kind!"

Nicolaus growled, the grip on his weapon tightening. Frey had just spat at the memory of his own friends; then again, he was pretty quick to forget about them after Dracul took him as an apprentice so it was not that much of a surprise.

Frey split the staff into two kamas, intending to finish his former comrade off.

Despite everything that happened, Nicolaus had no desire to kill the man before him. However, he also knew that Frey did not share his sentiment. One of those two was going to die today, that much was certain.

The fox Faunus already killed once; it should not be too hard the second time… right?

Ducking under the kama blades, he pushed Dreadnaught's barrel against Frey's torso and pulled the trigger.

*click*

The gun was empty.

Shit.

The next thing he knew, Dreadnaught was knocked out of his grasp and he received two slashes across his chest. Gasping with pain, he dropped to his knees. His Aura could not stop the blades from cutting into his body.

"I have to kill you. You know that, right?"

Nicolaus refused to meet Frey's gaze.

Suddenly, heavy footsteps rang out through the corridor. Frey did not seem worried, though and wordlessly pressed one of the kamas to Nicolaus' throat.

What are you waiting for, Liath? Do it!

In the next moment, someone whom he did not expect at the moment emerged from behind the corner.

"Back off, you mongrel!"

That voice was unmistakable.

Frey let out a disgusted huff and turned around to deal with the intruder. Nicolaus took advantage of the distraction and he shoved the jackal Faunus using whatever strength he had left. Frey was sent stumbling forward…

… right into Desmond's grasp.

The titan grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air. The trooper struggled against the giant's iron grip, but to no avail.

In the display of supernatural strength, Desmond slammed Frey into the concrete wall with all his might. The force of the impact left numerous cracks in the wall.

Then again.

And again.

At that point, Frey was clearly unconscious or dead, hanging limply in Desmond's grip. The giant scoffed at the knocked out goon and dropped him unceremoniously on the floor.

Then he sat down heavily at the wall, grunting in pain as he grasped at his chest.

Nicolaus stood up, his tired muscles screaming in protest. "Desi! You okay?" He asked worriedly as he staggered towards his friend.

"My everything hurts." Desmond admitted with a pained grimace. "What happened? Where are the others?"

"You don't remember the explosion?"

The giant chuckled at his question. "Of course I do, dummy! I meant the part after I passed out."

"There were goons pursuing us." The fox Faunus explained. "Tanya and Roland went downstairs to keep them away from us."

"Shouldn't we go check on them? See if they're okay?"

Nicolaus sighed. "I thought about it but then Frey popped in and, well… I had to make sure he wouldn't get to you. Besides, you got almost blown to pieces; I don't think you should be walking around just yet."

Desmond looked puzzled. "Blown to pieces? But I feel fine; look, I'm not even-"

He was cut off when another explosion downstairs rocked the building.

Roland stopped counting how many times the White Fang bastard shrugged him off like if he were nothing but a pestilent insect.

The fight was going badly for him from the start. To say it in plain terms, the gunman was getting his ass kicked; never in his life had he fared so miserably in a fight before. The guy in the freakish wolf mask somehow countered his every move; not even his Semblance was of much use against him and that alone was saying a lot given that it got him out of many dangerous situations. What use was it that he managed to land a few glancing blows when he received several hits for each and every one of them?

Just when he first laid his eyes on him, Roland knew that 'The wolf', as he began calling the goon, was a trained cold-blooded killer. His first instinct was to run… but the bastard was blocking the only exit out of the room he was tossed in. The only way out of this predicament was to fight and hope that he could land some lucky hit that would give him a chance to escape.

He found out the hard way that it was too much to hope for, though.

The entire fight was a game of cat and mouse, where the masked thug was the predator. Fighting with a machete, he was more than a match for Roland, easily beating him back every time he tried attacking; it seemed like it was a sport to him. The gunman lost track of how many cuts he received during the fight; the rather small blade did a number on his Aura, cutting it down to less than a half.

After his last attempt failed, Roland was left panting with exhaustion, kneeling and leaning heavily on his rifle axe.

"Is that the best you can do? Pathetic, simply pathetic." The wolf sneered and began approaching the tired hunter in training at a painfully slow pace. "You are supposed to be 'the humankind's best and brightest'? They expect you to protect them?" He reached behind his back and pulled out his grenade launcher. The thing looked almost like an ordinary mass produced model… except for the triangle shaped steel spike fixed to the bottom side of the stock. The weapon was thus doubling as a club. "This only shows how low your kind has fallen. You think you are the masters of the world and everyone else is beneath you; but let me tell you, your arrogance will cost you everything, in the end."

The goon stopped only a few steps before him. He grabbed the grenade launcher by its barrel and raised it high above his head, ready to bring it down on his defeated prey.

That was the moment when Roland made his last desperate move.

Using whatever strength he had left, he stood up and swung Thunderbolt upwards, intercepting the blow aimed for his head. The wolf staggered a bit as his weapons was suddenly knocked away from its target. Roland used the distraction and pivoted counter clockwise to the right, swinging the axe in a wide roundhouse arc. His legs felt like if they were made of lead, but the self-preservation instinct overrode all physical pain.

The head of his axe connected with the wolf's side; the first solid hit.

Roland had no time to celebrate his success; he had to act fast if he wanted to survive this encounter. He pulled the axe back and swung upwards, aiming for the goons face.

It could have worked had the wolf not recovered and slammed his fist into the gunman's nose.

Roland was sent stumbling backwards, his head snapping back from the sheer force of the blow. The goon followed up with a swing of his club and knocked Thunderbolt out of his hand.

His opponent was dazed and defenseless… yet that did not seem enough for him. The wolf lifted the club and with all his might he brought it down on his opponent's leg.

A choked cry of pain tore out of the gunman's throat as his femur was broken by the blow. Collapsing on the ground he nursed his injured limb as the White Fang thug stood triumphantly over him.

"All in all, there was no other way this could end." The wolf taunted. "You know, I'm growing tired of having to deal with your kind. I've seen what you lot can do. You are rotten, every single one of you; self-centered, arrogant, always so sure of their 'exceptionality', always willing to kill, destroy and enslave for a little profit."

Roland could not think clearly due to the pain his broken leg was causing him; every time he put even a little weight on his injured limb, crippling pain shot throughout his body, causing him to nearly black out. There was no way he could get out of here in this state. Maybe someone could come to his rescue while the wolf was too busy gloating.

"But this stops soon; this 'era of peace' is about to end." The goon continued, keeping his gaze locked on the injured huntsman in training. Roland still had his pistols on him but he would not get a single shot out before the goon killed him. "And when you rotten society finally falls apart, our people will make sure that humankind will be nothing but a dark stain on Remnant's history."

The wolf began slowly backing away, much to Roland's relief. Maybe the bastard got tired of playing with him, he thought. There was no other way of explaining why someone that hated humans so much would just let him live, even after treating him like a punching back.

"As far as I'm concerned, all humans can burn in hell now… and you will be there to greet them!"

With these last words, the goon suddenly leveled his grenade launcher at the ground before him and pulled the trigger.

The next few seconds seemed to pass at a painfully slow pace.

Roland began backing away as fast as his broken leg allowed him, eyes widened in terror as he watched the grenade leave the barrel and bounce towards him.

Oh fuck…

He was too slow.

Just a few moments before the grenade went off, his entire life flashed before his eyes in a series of images.

Then an invincible force slammed into him, followed by a barrage of flames and pieces of metal.

Growing up outside the Kingdoms and her years in White Fang taught Blake plenty of things that were needed to survive in the treacherous world of Remnant. Somehow, nothing could prepare her to face her old mentor again.

Adam Taurus: a friend, brother in arms, a crush at one point, in short a person she was willing to trust with her life.

But that was years ago, before a bloodthirsty monster took his place.

When Blake left him on that train, she did it to get away from him before he could take her with him on the path of violence. But it seemed that he would not part ways with her that easily.

Now she was forced to fight him in the old abandoned factory, right where White Fang planned to ambush and destroy her team and Griffon's. They stood in the Fang's way so their leader sentenced them all to death.

The terror attack at the fair in the Vale City served as the bait for their target and as much Blake loathed admitting it, it worked spectacularly. After taking care of the Fang troopers back at the square, Blake and her team rushed to the old factory where team TNDR pursued a bunch of survivors.

Which was exactly what the Fang wanted.

Soon after arriving dozens of goons assaulted them and forced them to split up. In the confusion, Blake lost sight of Yang; when she tried to reunite with her, her old mentor blocked her way.

She knew exactly what he was after, if the sinister smirk on his face was anything to go by.

Blake knew that even if she were on the top of her game she could not defeat him; Adam was one of the most dangerous warriors White Fang had, his skill rivaling that of fully trained Hunters. She was not about to run away, though.

Not that he would even give her a chance to.

It was a bitter reunion, indeed.

Adam fought more ferociously than Blake ever seen; he almost did not give her any opportunity to retaliate. She knew that her defection must have affected him; she would have never anticipated such a blind, primal rage.

He called her a traitor and a coward in a myriad of ways even as he did his damnedest to cut her into pieces.

"You turned your back on everything we fought for! On everything I fought for!" Adam roared as he swung his sword in a diagonal arc. The blade ended up cutting Blake's shadow clone in half. "You threw away everything we achieved just so you could pursue your fantasies of peace!"

"It will remain a fantasy as long as the Fang keeps it that way! I want equality; all you are after is revenge!" Blake retorted and launched a flurry of quick slashes; Adam effortlessly parried every one of them.

"So what if I am? Don't you think humans deserve it after everything they've done to us?"

"Yet it didn't stop you from working with them!" Blake conjured a clone and let it attack Adam while circling around him. The bull Faunus fell for the bait and cleaved the clone in half. Blake saw her chance and slashed at his back, scoring at least on hit before Adam whirled around and met her sword with his own.

"They are simply tools, nothing more!" He growled as he and Blake locked blades. "We'll get rid of them once they cease to be useful… and I expect the same from them."

"You're just contradicting yourself and your ideals!"

The bull Faunus chuckled and pushed hard against his former apprentice, sending her staggering back. "I don't think so. Defeating humans by pitting their own people against them is more satisfying, is it not?"

Blake was sick.

Sick of what White Fang had been reduced to, sick of Adam's cold blooded, ruthless attitude, sick of the brutality and hypocrisy.

Sick of not being able to change things.

It seemed that Adam was tired of their conversation and sought to put an end to the fight.

After yet another barrage of relentless attacks Blake found herself disarmed, Gambol Shroud knocked out of her hands; she supposed this was bound to happen since Adam's fighting skills far surpassed her own.

She did not expect him to stab her abdomen, right above her left hip.

Blake collapsed to the ground with a pained cry.

Strangely, the bull Faunus made no move to finish her off.

"BLAKE!"

Feeling of dread washed over her when she recognized Yang's voice.

Oh no…

"You're not allowed to die just yet, Blake. Only after I destroy everything you hold dear." Adam said grimly as he looked down on Blake

Yang made her appearance, blasting her way through the factory's wall.

Seeing the bull Faunus standing over her partner, the blonde boxer literally erupted into flames, her irises becoming blood red.

"Such is the price of betrayal."

"GET AWAY FROM HER YOU BASTARD!"

Yang, run away! Run, damn it!

Yang rushed forward, intent on pummeling Adam into the ground.

The bull Faunus smirked and whirled around to engage the attacker.

Yang threw a punch aimed at Adam's head. He swiftly dodged both the fist and the buckshot from Ember Celica. The blonde was simply too enraged to really think and she just kept swinging. The bull Faunus parried or avoided every incoming blow until he saw an opening… and did not hesitate to take the chance.

Yang gasped in both surprise and pain when Adam stabbed his sword through her stomach.

"NO!"

With a scoff, he pulled the blade out and hit the girl across the face, knocking her to the ground. Then he looked at Blake; she was reaching out vainly to Yang with her right hand, tears streaming from her eyes. "It hurts, doesn't it?" He said, no trace of remorse in his voice. "And I'm just getting started."

"Not if I have anything to say about it!"

Adam raised his blade and whirled around, just barely stopping the sword coming at him. He instantly scowled when he recognized the attacker. "You?!"

Blake vaguely remembered the wolf Faunus that was crossing blades with Adam. What was his name… 'Ruivo' or something? He was one of the Huntsmen and he led a group of Beacon students against the Grimm during the Breach. He made a rather conspicuous figure with cropped reddish brown hair, disfigured wolf ears, segmented armor with numerous dents in it, and a double edged sword made of metal with a strange, reddish hue. She swore she could see flames dancing around the spot when the Huntsman's sword met Adam's.

That was not important now, however. Doing her best to block out the pain, she crawled over to Yang who was bleeding heavily from the stab wound in her stomach.

Ignoring Adam's snarl, the Huntsman spoke to Blake. "Get the girl out of here; the army is on its way."

"Not happening!" Pushing the intruder back, Adam bolted back to Yang, intending to finish her off. The wolf Faunus leapt up and vaulted over his head, landing between him and his victim.

"Not so fast, Taurus." He growled, leveling his sword at the bull's throat. Then he glanced at the girls behind him. "Move it, you two; this is gonna get ugly fast."

Blake was not about to question the man's order. She grabbed Yang and began half-carrying, half-dragging her out of the yard, ignoring her weak protests.

"Come on, Yang!" She urged softly. "We'll get you to doctor and everything will be okay!"

Yang tried to say something but began hacking up blood instead. Ignoring the pain in her stomach, Blake sped up, just as Adam and the unknown Huntsman began fighting in earnest.

Yang, please, hold on…

Adam glared at the intruder that interrupted his 'moment' with Blake. "I should have killed you when I had the chance."

Hernand Ruivo scoffed at his threat. "I should be saying the same about you."

The two men circled around each other, blades at the ready.

"Releasing Grimm into the city? Causing fear and panic in order to attract more monsters? What are you hoping to accomplish by that?" The Faunus Huntsman sneered. "Destroying everything this society has built so far and killing everyone who's not a part of you little group? That is your 'revolution'?!"

"I don't expect you to understand." Taurus shot back. "And I certainly don't have to explain myself to humankind's pet such as yourself."

"We're not that different, you and I." Ruivo chuckled. "I wonder, what this Cinder 'character' offered you that you're willing to follow her around like a loyal dog?"

Adam had no idea how the man knew about Cinder but he supposed it was of no consequence. He could only speculate what made Dracul throw his lot in with that witch. But as long as they had mutual goals, he was not going to protest; after all, even though one of the high ranking officers, he was not the one calling the shots. Besides, the Fang would get rid of her once she outlived her usefulness.

Still, Ruivo's wry comment had him bristling with anger.

"You talk too much, traitor." He snarled and lowered his body in a combat stance. "Let's settle this like warriors!"

"As you wish, Taurus." Ruivo shot back, his longsword ready to strike. "But be warned; I'm not one of the teenage students you're so fond of beating."

That did it.

"Enough of this piss! DIE!" Adam roared out and lashed out at his enemy.

Ruivo redirected the blow and pushed the bull Faunus away. "This is going to hurt you more than me, you son of a bitch!" He taunted and launched a counterattack.

A loud clank resounded through the yard as Adam and Ruivo locked blades.

When he finally forced his eyes open, he could not remember what happened.

His vision was swimming, his ears were ringing and his body felt numb.

What… where am I…

The only thing he could see was a ceiling of a decaying room.

It took him a few seconds to realize that he was lying on the floor.

He attempted to lift his head and look around.

What came next was pain… excruciating pain.

He could not stop the admittedly pitiful moan that tore his way out of his throat.

For some reason, his right hand refused to obey his commands.

He finally managed to turn onto his left side.

The floor was covered in blood… that seemed to pool around him.

Suddenly he finally remembered everything, with perfect clarity.

There was the Fang goon with that freakish mask.

They fought… and the bastard beat him senseless.

Not only that, but he also broke his right leg so he could not escape.

It was a preparation for his parting shot… which involved a grenade exploding mere few feet away from him.

It would explain the pain, the disorientation… and the ringing ears.

Somehow he survived the explosion but boy… did he feel like shit.

Then he realized his teammates were still somewhere out there, fighting those White Fang bastards.

I gotta get up…

Using his still functioning limbs, he began to slowly drag himself forward.

His rifle, his beloved Thunderbolt, was lying on the floor some ten feet away.

His poor, torn up body protested fiercely… but he had to get his gun.

Someone was bound to come back and finish the job.

And he would be ready.

I gotta get up…

Inch by inch, he was getting closer to his goal.

His limbs were growing weaker but he had to keep it up.

There was no telling when some of those bastards popped in.

"I gotta get up…"

At first, he did not realize he said it aloud.

His voice was weak, raspy, like if after years of disuse.

He could tell that Thunderbolt seemed bigger from his point of view.

He was going to get there, no doubt about it.

If only his body were not so damn tired…

I gotta get up, damn it!

Only five feet left…

Then his vision suddenly began to darken at the edges.

No! I'm so close!

"I gotta get up!"

If only his body obeyed him, he would have the damn gun already.

The strength was leaving him.

Suddenly someone barged into the room.

"Roland!"

He recognized the voice… even though it sounded so far away.

Tanya, his team leader and a dear friend…

He heard he kneel beside him, turning him on his back.

"Oh my God… Hold on, buddy, it's going to be okay! We're getting you out of here, they'll take care of you in the hospital! You'll get better, I promise; just stay with us!"

Why did she sound so scared?

Why was she crying?

"Tan… I need… my gun…"

His words were already slurring together, almost unintelligible.

This ain't good…

"You don't need it, those Fang sons-a-bitches ran away! Just look at me and don't fall asleep!"

Now that she mentioned it, sleep did sound pretty nice…

His eyelids began drooping.

Yeah, a nap would be great…

"No no no! Stay awake!"

Someone else came in.

The footsteps sounded heavier.

"Oh no…"

"Shit, this doesn't look good…"

Desi? Nick?

"We need a doctor, now!"

"Fucking Ironwood and his fucking army! Where are they when we need them?!"

Tanya was on the verge of panicking.

"Guys… I'm tired…"

The sounds and voices around him began growing quieter.

He felt the control of his body slipping between his fingers.

His eyes closed… and he could not stop it.

"We're losing him!"

"Stay with us!"

"NO! Don't go! ... Please…"

The world went black.

Author's note: So there goes the third part of my 'mega-update'. I know it might kind of look like RWBY Vol. 3 finale all over again but 1) this is by no means an end, I can say that much, and 2) no one said that this fic was going to be all sunshine and rainbows, right? That's what RWBYchibi is for :-) But seriously, I like the chibi version, even though its humor is a bit too cartoonish for my tastes. Most important, it helped me cope with the Volume 3 (they sank SS Arkos... THOSE BASTARDS! *sob*)

Anyway, enough mindless blabber from me. As always, thanks for reading, review, favorite or follow; compliments and/or critique always welcome :-)