Chapter 38: Shock

Ever since he had returned to the White Fang, Adam had been asked questions frequently about where he had been, what he had been doing and so on from Spike. Each time, he had told his boss the same story, scarcely revealing anything about the young woman who had saved his life. But he had seen that Spike was not happy with the little information he had gained from his most trusted agent and kept on prying, hoping that the younger man would slip once. But it never happened; Adam always kept to his story.

This, of course, had sent Spike into a brooding mood, and it was in a last resort that he had assigned his lieutenant and two of his men to a mission in the forest. Adam didn't know the details of it, but he was sure that Spike was trying to find Serena. He knew that the buffalo Faunus would use the girl for his plan and he wondered what he would do if he actually succeeded. He could not go up against Spike, he knew that, the man was too strong and had the entire organization as back-up, but he was sure to help the girl if the worst case scenario should occur.

It was then that, while walking through the hallways to get to the training room, Wilt and Blush securely held in his hand, he overheard two other Faunus, two men, talking about something. More specifically, they were talking about a new prisoner that they had made just four days ago. Normally, this would not concern Adam in the least, but when he heard the words 'Grimm' and 'control' he stopped abruptly and went over to the two men.

"Hey, you," he said gruffly, grabbing their attention immediately. The two men tensed and turned around before hurriedly bowing and greeting him with a shout of 'Sir!'. "What were you talking about just now?"

The men glanced at each other swiftly before the taller of the two answered, "We were just talking about the prisoner, sir."

Adam's eyes narrowed; he hadn't heard of any prisoner. "What prisoner?" His tone was cold and the two males stiffened even more before the other one answered this time.

"Haven't you heard about it? We captured the legendary 'Grimm Tamer' just a few days ago. Turns out it's only a little girl." This one did not seem to be as intimidated as the other one, but Adam could still see that the man knew exactly who he was talking to. "She's down in the cells."

With that bit of information, Adam turned on his heel, leaving the two men dumbfounded and briskly walked down the stairs, hand clenching his weapon. It could only be her, there was no one else who would be called the Grimm Tamer. But how had Spike found her? Was she okay? What did he even plan on doing with her?

He quickly entered the area where the cells were and walked down the long hallway, glancing into each and trying to see if she was in it. It was when he reached the last one, at the end of the corridor, that he spotted her. But what he saw made his breath hitch and his hand tighten around the blade.

In the cell was a totally different person than the one that he remembered spending time with for two weeks. The girl had the same physical appearance; black hair, small stature and bright blue eyes, but she was no longer the same. Her face and arms were covered in bruises, sporting a black eye and multiple cuts on her arms, lip and above her eye. Her clothes were torn and dirty and her hair was a mess, tangled and sticking into different directions. She had a large red burn on her right temple and, even though he could not see her other temple, Adam was sure that she had the same mark on the other side of her face. She was sitting on the metal bed, her back leaning against the wall, legs drawn up and arms resting on them, her eyes staring off into nothingness.

Adam could think of a lot of words to describe her momentary state, but the only one that came to mind was the word 'broken'. Her eyes had lost the light that they had held before and were now dull and unseeing. Her posture, once proud but not over-confident, was now just a slump, showing the defeat that she felt. She had not noticed him yet, still staring off, eyes blinking slowly sometimes.

The bull Faunus slowly opened the cell door, the metal making a slight noise but she still did not stir or even look in the direction that the noise had come from. He slowly walked over to her until he was right in front of her. Squatting down, he looked her in the eye and it was only when he said her name that she seemed to notice his presence. She blinked her eyes, as if trying to clear her vision and stared at him, trying to remember who he was.

Then, finally, it hit her and her eyes welled up. Adam reacted quickly and, sitting down on the bed beside her, he pulled her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her, protecting her, shielding her from the hurt she must have experienced. She quietly weeped into his chest, her body shaking and hands fisting his shirt. He soothingly stroked her back with one hand while the other lay on her head and gently patted it. He found himself in a situation that he never thought he would be in.

When she finally calmed down, she pulled back and rubbed her eyes, trying to get rid of the remaining tears. She looked up at him before giving him a small smile. The action almost broke his heart; he was the one responsible for getting her into this situation. If he hadn't told Spike about her then she would still be living peacefully in her cave now, surrounded by Grimm. Instead, she was here, in a cell, beaten up and dirty. Yet she still smiled at him with such warmth that he did not know what to do. Never before had he experienced such kindness.

"I missed you," her soft voice said, her eyes still smiling at him with warmth. He wanted to say something; wanted to say that he did too, that he would get her out of here, anything to make her feel better. But nothing came to mind except one thing.

"I'm sorry."

He could not forgive himself. She had treated him so well, never judged or shunned him once for being a Faunus, actually taught him some things too, and how did he repay her?

By betraying her.

"It's not your fault. You have nothing to be sorry for."

The words surprised him and, looking at her, he could see that she meant it.

"But it's my fault. If I hadn't told Spike about you then-"

"No, Adam," she cut him off. "It's not. You couldn't know what he would do. You had no other choice but to answer his questions and you couldn't know that he would do this. It's no one's fault but Spike's."

He was stunned by her words and the earnestness in them.

"Why? Why do you trust me so much?"

Serena cocked her head to the side, not understanding why he would ask such a question.

"We barely know each other. Heck, you took care of me when you found me in the woods! But you never judged me. You showed me so much kindness that I don't even know how to repay you. And you forgive me for bringing you into this kind of situation. Why? What could possibly make you, a kind person that rarely exists, trust me, a killer?"

"Because I believe in you."

The answer was too simple.

"What?"

"I believe in you. When I found you in the woods, I did not see you as a Faunus or member of the White Fang. I didn't even realize that you were a Faunus until after I treated you. I only saw a man that needed help and so, I helped you. You try to be cold and keep people at a distance, but I can see that you're a kind person, Adam. You are not a killer and you helped me a lot when you were staying with me."

She looked him defiantly in the eye, a passion burning in them that he had never seen before.

"No matter what other people might say, I'm glad I met you. You're an important person to me, Adam."

Said male was overwhelmed. This girl was so much braver and stronger than he had thought and she had a kindness and honesty that he had never encountered before. He could only chuckle at her comment and she gave a slight smile in response. Standing up, he went over to the cell's door before pausing, back turned to her.

"I'm going to get you out of here. I don't know how yet, but I will make sure that you'll be save."

"I trust you."

He nodded before leaving, closing the door and leaving her behind. Walking up the stairs again, he climbed to the second floor, knocking at Spike's door. He had to talk to the man and find out what he planned on doing with her. The command to enter came muffled through the door and he opened it with more force than necessary. Telling himself that he needed to calm down and not raise any suspicions, he closed the door more gently before bowing swiftly, like always.

"Adam, what would you need?" Spike's voice floated over. Straightening again, the red-head noticed a woman with golden eyes and red dress standing by the leader's side. She was the leader of the human trio that had made a deal with them, but he did not know why she was here.

"I do not mean to interrupt, but I heard we had a guest."

Trying to stay calm was much more difficult than he would have thought and he wondered how Serena could always be so serene.

Spike grinned slightly. "Ah, yes. We have finally found the girl that you have told me about. Quite the feisty one, but she will help us a great deal in our further plans."

"How so?" Adam asked, though he tried to keep his voice void of any suspicion. If he messed up now or let something slip, Serena would be in even greater danger than before.

"Simple; she will be the one lending me power to finally overtake this country and get rid of those wretched humans. After that, I will dispose of her. She is, after all, a human too, though a special one to wield such power." Spike's eyes had a gleam that told Adam that the man was slowly starting to lose it.

"I see. A perfect plan, sir. I will be out again, if that is okay."

Spike waved him away with a hand and Adam was out the door, walking back to his room. He needed to act, and act fast, or else the girl was as good as dead.

A/N: I do not own RWBY or its characters. I do, however, own my OC Serena and any other OCs that appear in this story.

Thanks for the many reviews on the last chapter. Some of you already speculated on what was going to happen further on, and I have to say that some of you hit right in the black, though I won't tell you what's going to happen ;)

Well, there's not much to say here, just that they are finally starting to grow closer. I hope it was not too sudden, so just tell me if it was perhaps too fluffy regarding the previous chapters.

Don't forget to review!